A Mistaken Address

last week an aging realtor in our community sent me a note by mistake. He sent the note to my address but addressed it to another person with the same last name. I called the office and the secretary said to send it back and that he was confused. Today I received another envelope from the same man--wrong first name, right address.

I opened the letter to see if I should return it again to the office. It was a testimony of Tony Snow, former Press Secretary of President Bush, and his fight with cancer. He cautions all of us dealing with grave dilemmas to "open our eyes and hearts. God relishes surprise. We want lives of simple, predictable ease--smooth, even trails as far as the eye can see--but God likes to go off-road. He provokes us with twists and turns. He places us in predicaments that seem to defy our endurance and comprehension--and yet don't . By his love and grace, we persevere. The challenges that make our hearts leap and stomachs churn invariably strengthen our faith and grant measures of wisdom and joy we would not experience otherwise."

Now, Lord, this may be true but if it is all the same to you, I would have easily let someone else have the pleasure of the experience. Facetious as that last statement is, the more profound is the statement of Mr. Snow. I need to find comfort in the twists and turns and hope that, somehow, I come out of all of it with a strengthened faith and joy.

Some wise soul told me when I was going through the agony of my divorce, "He doesn't deserve to take your happiness with him." He didn't take it with him. But he stayed behind in my head living rent-free. He doesn't deserve that either. I need to change my address to one he can no longer occupy.