Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Jesus is my GANGSTA BOO

The title is a play on the early 2000s craze of the t-shirts that said "Jesus is my Homeboy." I should have bought one of those t-shirts years ago, haha.

Anyway...This morning I decided to get up at 6am to write an article response, take a few minutes nap, prepare for the day, then head off to school on the bus. Admittedly I should have left a little earlier, but I was at the bus stop at a good time. Of course the roadway became a little crowded right when my bus was coming, thus it passed me. A lady waiting on a different bus was passed right after me as well. I think her bus could have made it to the curb to get her, but that is just my opinion. Again, why are they not riding near the curb to pick up passengers!

After waiting in the early morning chill longer than I'd planned, another bus comes. I sit down in the first seat. After realizing my surroundings through my morning autopilot phase, as if the brisk winds outside didn't do their job of waking me up, I noticed that the overhead dash of this bus was remodeled and fixed up nicely. In the center of the dash was the word "gangster", below was a new radio/tape deck/CD player, and just below that were several speakers delivering a crisp, but not loud sound. The music selection for the morning - 90's 2000's Rap/R&B tunes that I haven't heard in years. Because I was passed by the earlier bus, I kept checking my phone to calculate whether or not I would have enough time to stay on the bus the whole bus ride or if I would have to walk from the mall near school. As we approached the huge intersection near the mall I looked at my phone one more time and decided to take the ride. Once I made my decision I tried to relax and reminisce with the music. I also convinced myself I made the right choice by saying I trust this bus driver. He was a young man I've ridden with before (you know that's bad when I know the bus drivers on different routes :D). I like him as a person from what I've observed on several encounters with him: his driving is fast, but not reckless; he stops for everyone; he goes out of his way to stop for or drop off a passenger in hectic situations; he doesn't try to run over pedestrians and allows other vehicles to pass in front of him; and he has a mild personality and doesn't cackle or yell to the guys at the check point, he says what he has to say and moves on.

I promptly arrive at my bus stop across the street from school at 8:15am, class is at 8:35am. Enough time to maneuver the morning rush at the express print computers in the library to print my article response.  Even before I told him to stop at the bus stop he began to slow down and looked back at me as if to say, "I know this is your stop." I thanked him, as is the custom here when getting off of the bus, and he said "hasta luego/see you later," which is the phrase the bus drivers use with their patrons. I thought this guy is good! Right when I got off of the bus I had a "duh moment."

Here it is:
Yes, I had to wait a little bit longer in the cold to get my bus, but it was the right bus for me at the right time. I enjoyed music in the midst of agonizing over the time. What I should have done was relax completely after coming to terms with trusting the bus driver, based off of past experience. Just like when we put our trust in God, we still doubt even though we know what He is capable of - we continue to check the time unsure of when we will reach our destination. Once we turn something over to Him we need to FULLY turn it over. It defeats the purpose of the blessing if it is received with less than 100% faith- the blessing is deprived of the appreciation that it is owed. So instead of being on the bus and thinking everything will work out fine, I got off of the bus saying NOW everything is ok, which is not too late, but human nature - that is our challenge as Christians, having 100% faith before the outcome manifests itself.

As usual I never intend to write about God on my blog (mainly because it is for school), but when He moves He moves and I can't help but to share (another Christian duty). Even when it is just the simplest thing like getting to class on time on a bus with great music and a great bus driver, I can't help but to smile and say, "Jesus you R my GANGSTA BOO!"