Reflection
By Susan M. Lang
She blessed me The benediction I
headed to the grocery store, not because of the impend- ing storm but because I’d just been set free after weeks of captivity in my home. I was granted permission to drive
again after my partial knee replacement surgery five weeks prior and felt as excited as a newly licensed driver to give my freedom a trial run. At the store I hung my cane on the shopping cart and
headed off on my grocery adventure. What I hadn’t antici- pated was how crowded the store would be and how exhausted I’d become after just 30 minutes. After finishing, I was thankful for the cart to hold me up
as I trudged back to the far end of the parking lot to my car. A younger couple parked next to me began loading their gro- ceries into their car as I loaded mine. When I finished, the woman pointed at my cart and said: “I’ll take that for you when I return ours.” “Stay safe,” she said as I lifted the cane off the cart. It
was a benediction for my travels. I was overwhelmed with gratitude. I sat quietly in the car to celebrate the moment. A stranger
with her presence, her assistance and her words.
©ISTOCK/RISBYCHIC
paid attention to her surroundings and noticed me limping back to the car with my cane dangling off the side of the cart. She blessed me with her presence, her assistance and her words. Captivity comes in many different ways. For five weeks I’d
felt captive because I couldn’t leave the house. But how often do I experience spiritual captivity because I’m enmeshed in my personal thoughts and agenda and don’t even notice those around me? More often than I’d like to admit. God is fully present in each moment of our lives in vari-
ous ways. Real freedom from my captivity turned out not to be the ability to leave my house and drive again, but the fact that my eyes were opened and I saw God’s presence anew, receiving an unex- pected blessing for my journey from a stranger.
Author bio: Lang is an ELCA pastor who serves ecumenically as a leadership retreat facilitator and church consultant in Perkasie, Pa. (
www.revwriter.com).
May 2015 23
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