Turn Of Events Unexpected

After many months of long hours work, my request for three days off was approved last week. I feel fortunate. The three days were initially set for me to attend my friend’s graduation from Med school, but something else came out and the initial plan was changed. I instead went for the written exam for driver’s license. Though I have a professional driver’s license in the Philippines, and I’ve been driving for years, I still need to go through the process and start from step one: I got my permit to drive. So the 3 days away from work started really so well. I was with friends I’ve not seen for awhile, we had a grand day malling. I got some books from Barnes while they get their hair cut. I was so sleepy, but I tried to fight it, I don’t want to miss a thing. God I missed doing this!

We extended the day, got some coffee and decided to have a walk in the lake shore late evening. It was foggy, the temperature dropped but it was fun. I am a night shift nurse, I lack sleep, I was a walking zombie. When I got to my apartment and my back hit the bed I slept like a baby. It’s been long since I slept this way in a night time, so it’s a luxury for me.

The next day, it was all fixing things and cleaning up the mess in my apartment. I started by washing the loundry, cleaning, cleaning and more cleaning the whole day and went to bed. I am grateful, everything seem to fall in the right places. I wanted to freeze time and stay in that moment forever but I am mature enough to understand that I need to work to pay the bills and the next night would be back to work.

I spent my last free day browsing and reading the books I bought. Great day chilling out, good read.

After a brief nap in the afternoon, the turn of events unexpected started when I woke up discovering something that made me sweat profusely: I CAN’T FIND MY WALLET! The last time I remember having it was wednesday evening when I bought something from seven-eleven. It’s friday, I learned my lost after two days. I have all my cards in the wallet. I don’t usually bring them but that day because I went to apply for my driver’s license, I have with me my Social Security ID, Green Card,  and State ID. I immediately checked on-line the activities in my credit cards. Nothing unusual really, one of my cards still has that last transaction I did at seven-eleven, so I was able to breath a little better. I gathered myself together and took action for damage control from my lost. I first cancelled my credit cards, then went to the nearest police station to report the incident so they could notify the credit bureaus. The question that was hard for me to answer was where and when I lost it? I just claimed I must have dropped it in the lakeshore that evening we had a walk becuase that was the last time I remember having it, but I was not really sure. 

I was back to work that night worried. My mother sent me a message to pray that whoever has my wallet return it, my friends told me the same thing. But I am more skeptical and distrustful of people. I didn’t expect nor pray for that. What I was only asking is for me to understand why it has to happen. I know there’s something to learn even from this turn of events unexpected. If there’s one thing I prayed to gain from this, that’s just it. 

The next day, I cancelled and changed all my bank accounts and get the consolation finding no problem when I checked my account balance. Less worried and less expecting to recover my wallet, I’m still searching in my mind the answer to my “WHY.”

Time made me accept my misfortune. Monday morning, after working double shift, I went straight to Social Security Office to get a new card. But I found my misfortunes was not over, after a long and tiring trip , I discovered I left my lunch bag in the bus and I have my keys to my apartment in it. What more? I arrived in a closed office for renovation. JINX!

I went home feeling tired and sleepy and I don’t have my keys. I waited for almost an hour for the apartment’s care taker to open the door for me. I slept exhausted, my body gave up to any positive thoughts left of me.

After only 2 hours of sleep I got my strength re-charged, got up to find solution to my recent added problem. I called the the CTA office to check if my bag was returned and luck started to send me signal as I see series of little spark of hope. I recovered my bag that afternoon, and when I returned the key I borrowed from the apartment’s care taker, she handed me one of my lost credit cards she found in the loundry. Now I got a lead where I lost my wallet. But Who has it? I remember there was somebody with me in the loundry that day, but I don’t know who he was.

Questions overflowed, playing in my mind that night at work and the next day. I found the answers at 10:00 P.M. of tuesday with a knock in my door that ended all my misfortunes. A boy and his father was outside my door asking me if I was looking for something. There was no doubt in my mind in that instance that their question was the answer to my “WHY.”  He handed me my wallet with everything in it crampled by the washing machine but intact nevertheless. God, I could kiss the child! He found my wallet in the loundry. They live in the next building and since I work night shift it was hard for them to see me and they’re not really sure where I live. It was only that afternoon when they got the chance to talk and confirm with the care taker who knew my lost and handed me one of my card the previous day. The boy was even hesitant to accept a small amount I handed him as token of appreciation for his kindness, I heard his father said I don’t need to give him anything but I said I’m just really very grateful and I should have even spent more than that if they did not return my cards.

Now the answer to my “WHY.” I have to admit that since I came to America almost 2 years ago I became distrustful of people and less friendly. I am always cautious and in my more than a year stay here in my apartment I didn’t reach out to my neighbors. The incident opened my eyes, changed my mind and opened my heart to the truth that there are good people out there. It took me lossing something to find that truth again. It reminded me of the power of prayer that my mother told me in her message which I disregard being too skeptical. I wasted many days and nights worrying instead.

God has a sealed message in everything that happen. In this instance, I realized I have hardened my heart which made it difficult for me to open and understand His message. Should I have been friendlier to my neighbors, I could have recovered my wallet faster if they know who I was and where I live. But I was not. I kept my doors locked and my heart shut to the possibilities of friendship.

And It took God to let a boy knock in my door for me to realize that.