A Holy Pause - Rachel Devine
When we are forced to pause in life we can take a moment to discover so much about ourselves. It’s in the silence of the pause that we can be awakened to many different aspects of our life. It is in the silence between the notes, that we find a treasure of wealth in our connection to our Higher Power or as I call Him God. This true story is a testimony to an incredible holy pause, which brings so much clarity when we take the time to listen to the message.
It was a rainy morning in New York City. The rain was pounding against my apartment window as I was rushing around to get ready to babysit for my grandson. I glanced out the window to see the water from the rain had flooded the parking area, including my car. The water was past the exhaust pipe. I gasped as I went to find my knee-high boots. When I went downstairs, it looked impossible for me to move my car since the area was flooded all around the parked cars. I went back upstairs, took the boots off, and summoned an Uber car. The uber would be downstairs in 6 minutes.
I made my way down to wait for the Uber car. I called my son to tell him I was delayed. I kept glancing down at the Uber app, and it kept saying, 1 minute for the arrival. Finally, several minutes had gone by when I saw a message on the Uber app that said, “I am here.” I glanced towards the circle of my building, and there was the Uber driver. I was waiting in front of the building, and he was in the circle. I motioned to him, and he drove over to where I was standing. The driver said, “I was waiting around 8 minutes; I was going to leave.” I responded, “Thank you so much for waiting for me.” The app kept saying 1 minute, even though you were here.” He replied, “These apps are not always reliable.” As he pulled out, I told him to take the Cross Island Parkway; it was about a 20-minute ride, according to my app. He wanted to take the Clearview Expressway. The Uber driver reluctantly got onto the Cross Island Parkway. He drove for approximately ½ a mile when there was a dead stop on all cars going both ways. There must have been an accident up ahead. I apologized for urging the driver to get on the parkway, and he said it was fine; he just wanted to get me to my destination. I felt like he probably wanted to kill me for the delay. I was so emotionally distraught over forcing him onto the Cross Island Parkway, which felt like a big mistake. I sat there telling myself I should never direct an uber driver, especially when they have a navigator.
We sat in silence, and I texted a friend, Barbara, to pray for me because my car got flooded and I was hoping it was not permanently damaged. She texted me back and said that she would dedicate her rosary to me this morning. I was so grateful for her prayers. At that point, I sat in the Uber car, feeling responsible for the delay and quite miserable. The traffic was at a dead standstill. As I sat there feeling bad that I persuaded him onto the parkway, I searched my phone to see what happened. I found information that there was a bad accident right before the Northern Boulevard exit, and one person was killed. I couldn’t help thinking that texting and driving can cause these types of accidents. There was a helicopter hovering overhead. The rain was beating on the window as the windshield wipers were going on overdrive. I sat there thinking to myself. Here I was so upset about my car getting flooded and someone just died on the parkway. I found myself blurting that out loud, and the Uber driver, Mo, said, “If we hadn’t been delayed the 8 minutes for this ride, we could have been right in the middle of the accident. I am convinced we were delayed for a reason.”
Wow, I was suddenly thrust into a holy pause. Everything stopped in the real world, and I was thrust into a spiritual realm outside of this world. It felt like I was no longer sitting in the uber car, but in a realm between this world and another one. It was like a cloud had cleared, and the almighty sunlight was shining into the Uber car like a hallow of love from God. I could see, in my mind’s eye, a metaphoric bright light shinning through the miserable rainy day. The silence was welcoming. My thoughts stopped tormenting me about the direction we were going. I started to realize that Mo was right. We were delayed for a reason, and had I seen the Uber driver by my house, we would have headed out 8 minutes earlier than we did. I sat there in this sudden holy pause where life seemed to stand still for quite some time, and what appeared so important earlier was trivial in this holy moment. I suddenly felt safe, and the 90-minute delay didn’t seem annoying anymore; rather, it felt like holy time allotted by God for reflection. All I knew was that we were safe and not in the midst of that horrible accident. I felt incredibly grateful. We were safe, sitting in this Uber car in traffic on a rainy Monday morning. I took a moment to pray for the person who was killed that morning and thanked God for protecting Mo and me.
I initially thought Mo would be so angry at my insistence on going on the Cross Island Parkway, and now we were talking like old friends. Mo was a man very much connected to God. He told me he felt supernatural protection with the 8-minute delay this morning, and I agreed with him. I told him I had seen these synchronized God moments in my life in the past. It was God’s way, at times, of getting our attention. We were both having a spiritual, God-given moment that only we could both fully understand. We continued talking, and he told me he lost his business due to COVID. He had a textile business that went bankrupt because the Chinese company he was affiliated with closed. He was grateful he was able to support his family by driving an Uber cab. He was genuinely happy and grateful. We discussed the impact of COVID on businesses. He had a daughter in college, although he looked too young to have a daughter in college. Mo was originally from Egypt. However, he lived in the US for 25 years. We talked about COVID closures for businesses. I told him our power was at the voting polls, and he semi-agreed and said, “I do my part.”
After a 90-minute delay, the traffic cleared, and we were on our way. When we reached my destination, I handed him a $20 tip. He actually said, "No, that isn’t necessary; it was nice just to meet you.” Wow, that was incredibly kind. That holy pause was at its very high point, and I said to him, “This is the right thing to do. God bless you and stay safe.” I excited the cab as the $20 bill was laid by the cupholder of the car.
Two strangers met under what seemed like regular circumstances; however, God created what I call the holy pause, bringing light and love to what appeared to be a dreadful morning. God reminded us both of the power of gratitude and being thankful for the blessings all around us and the protection of God. It made us realize how precious life is. Our lives touched one another, and I will always remember this holy experience. I was also fortunate when I got home later on to know my car was okay; it just needed to be dried and cleaned out. Another reason to be so grateful.
That is the end of my true story.
So, what are the lessons we can take away from this story? I think the main thing is that God is in charge and that life can change on a dime. And perhaps to live each day to the fullest. And the question begs, why were we spared and the other person was killed? And I guess this is a mystery that no one can determine. Sure, we can speculate, but the reason why things happen as they do will always be just that—a mystery of life and of God’s inner world.
Life is a beautiful, amazing, and mystical experience that has many twists and turns. And this one was a real beauty.