It was a Sunday afternoon, and we were riding in the car on our way to a far away place where we were going to visit with some people we had not yet met.
Riding in the car for long distances is a good way to 'catch-up' with many things 'pending'; such as praying a full rosary together and uninterrupted, recalling the plans and options for a family vacation, listening to one another as we talk about things that were perhaps unimportant when not given the time to share at length, spending some quiet time, together. And most importantly, simply enjoying being in each other's presence as we sit side by side riding in the car is a good thing, too.
My favorite part in long rides is looking out the window and taking in all the images of life that pass us by. Sometimes we see a hawk or some large bird flying high, and we wonder how it would feel - to fly free. At other times we spot a dead animal on the road, and our hearts are saddened by the loss - we imagine how it might have happened - who hit who - did someone in a vehicle get injured, too?
On this particular drive, we saw three balloons floating by rising higher in the sky. Could not begin to imagine where they had been released from or if perhaps some small child had lost them after attempting to hold on to them tightly (since helium tends to want to flee, we cannot keep it as it wants to rise freely, too).
The first thought was of God's Triune Majesty. Anytime our eyes capture good things in threes, the Holy Trinity comes to mind. Especially since the colors of the balloons were white and red. One balloon was a reminder of the purity of the spotless Lamb, Jesus (it was white). The other two balloons were red - the Father and the Holy Spirit (in union with the Son). In the mind’s eye, the balloons remind us of a child. In the eyes of faith, the balloons (indirectly, and yet ever so clearly) remind us of God’s creative hand in everything surrounding us at every moment of every day in our lives.
In the course of the drive, my mind goes back-and-forth with the thought of meeting people I have not yet met, and for the first time ever – have to share some time with. Instead of becoming concerned or even ‘alarmed’ by the idea and thinking (with the mind’s eye) of what it is that we will do or say in the presence of some strangers, my eyes of faith fix themselves on the three balloons floating freely. I wish to be like them, trusting that God in his Triune Majesty, will provide me with the words to say in order to bring the message of His Son to the moment we encounter, and share the gift of presence with those who (like us) are in fact other ‘known’ members of our family of faith, just waiting to be ‘found’ and made one, in the Mystical body, the Church.
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