The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

‘God walks with us -- He scoops us up in his arms or simply sits with

us in silent strength until we cannot avoid the awesome recognition that

yes, even now, he is there.’

-- Gloria Gaither

Flying alone to New York on Halloween did seem a little strange, but

I’m not superstitious. That’s just the way it worked out, and that’s the

day I went.

My husband Jon had to be there for work and asked if I’d like to join

him. As I prayed about it, I sensed God nudging me to go. I have a cousin

who lives there and I hoped to visit her.

I couldn’t leave the day Jon did, but I flew out the next day. Other

than encountering a lot of turbulence and some bizarre costumes, my

flights were fine. Both planes were noticeably light on passengers and

understandably repetitive about security procedures.

I took a bus from the airport to the city, and the people on the bus

were very friendly. The woman next to me pointed out landmarks and talked

about her beloved city.

“Right there is where our towers are supposed to be,” she said. “I

still can’t believe they’re gone, or what has happened to our people and

our city. As awful as it all is, I’m proud of our people. We’re more

bonded than before. It feels more like a community than it used to.”

She asked about my plans, and I explained that I’d felt God wanted me

to go near Ground Zero and pray, thank the relief workers and hopefully

volunteer in some way.

“This is the time for prayer,” she said, and repeated. “This is surely

the time for prayer.”

I enjoyed talking with her, and she helped me when it was clear by our

bus driver’s actions that something was wrong as we neared the bus

terminal. He started looking around nervously and picked up his radio and

made a call.

I looked around, and all I could see were buses in every direction.

She listened to the driver, and then translated for me.

“He just called in to say that he sees a red truck, and we’re in a

place that is for buses only. No trucks,” she said, while pointing to a

red truck a few lanes over.

“He’s worried that maybe there’s a bomb on the truck.”

We all looked out the window, and we all saw the red truck. I was

impressed with how calm everybody was.

“Now there’s a reminder that this is a great time to know God,” the

woman next to me said and repeated. “This is surely the time to know

God.”

Our bus started slowly moving again, and soon we parked in the

terminal. I never heard what happened with the truck, but as we headed

off the bus, I thanked the woman for her help.

“No thanks necessary,” she said. “Just pray for our wounded city.”

I thought about that woman often while I was in New York. She was

right when she said that this is surely the time for prayer and this is

surely the time to know God. It’s worth repeating.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at o7

[email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box 6140-No. 505,

Newport Beach, CA 92658.