"Between a Rock and a Hard Place"

Last Thursday late afternoon.  Like most Thursdays, it is the day when Elizabeth and I buy fried chicken and we take it to my daughter's. It was a beautiful afternoon, there were not too many people at Chick-a-file, and everything looked like the continuation of a splendid early Spring afternoon.

Now, to exit the parking lot on the way to the street there is a lane in between parking slots.  On our way to the exit, we were behind a short line of cars, four or five at the most, taking turns to exit into the main drag.  Elizabeth bought a Diet Coke for herself, and she had the cup on her hand to take a sip.

Suddenly, a car started pulling out of its parking spot aiming straight to Elizabeth’s face.  We shouted, I blew the horn, but the car would not stop until it hit us.  Then the girl driving realized what happened and pulled back in into the parking spot.

Poor Elizabeth she became very upset.  The Coke spilled all over her and eventually made a puddle on the carpet.  We got out.  Elizabeth who, as you can imagine was not happy to say the least, asked the 64,000-dollar question.  “How come you didn’t check your rear mirror or you back-up camera?”

As it turned out, she was one of the girls working at Chick-A-File on her way home after her shift.  We didn’t move, as I called the cops.  Meanwhile I was trying to help Elizabeth with a towel, and to dry the poodle with some napkins.  And for having some napkins I really had to say, “Thank Heaven for 7/11!” 

Elizabeth was shaken, and in shock, of course.  She would walk around to size the accident and then go back and sit in the back and then, start all over again.

The girl’s dad arrived, and he accepted responsibility.  Eventually, a Police Service Aide arrived, wrote his report, we went over all the information, and finally we continued our journey.

Reflecting on our first Lesson, Exodus 17, we could have easily asked, “Why God?  We are your servants, we are following in your steps, and lo and behold, we are hit by a car!” 

Or one can simply imagine the Israelites complaining, “God, if you parted the waters of the Sea so we could escape from slavery into a future by your hand, couldn’t you arrange for stops in the way with plenty of water?”

Such are the questions that people make since the early days of creation whenever something goes awry. It is the age-old question that we often voice whenever we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place.  And if the question is not actually voiced, yet it still lurks in our minds.

I am not going to say that I am the only guy in town to whom bad things happen. I am sure that in your experience, you too may have found yourself asking, “What’s the deal, God?”

Yet, if you come to think about the story of the people of Israel wandering in the desert and Christians from all ages, one would have to admit that faith is often forged in moments of doubt.  When faced with challenges that seem not necessarily terrible but serious enough to keep us worried, even hoping against all hope, faith carries us on.

Back in the desert, the Israelites could only see rocks, for they were on the hard gravelly soil of the Sinai Peninsula.  But here’s the thing – the answer to their problem was on a rock, a perhaps no different to others surging on a rocky plain.

Water was there, hidden beneath the surface, waiting to be revealed at just the right moment.  In their desperation, the Israelites could not imagine that water could come from such a dry and unyielding place.  And so, whenever we are hard pressed we too despair -- without realizing that help is not only on the way, but it is already there.

Yesteryear God provided.  Water and life sprang forth from what seemed the most unlikely place. 

This is the same that happened to the Samaritan woman.  Facing a hostile society not of her own making, just looking for bare survival, she found not only water but life abundant in the most unlikely of places.

Her story, the story of the Israelites and countless other examples from even perhaps your own life, are a reminder that when our circumstances appear barren, when hope feels out of reach, perhaps the answer is closer than we think, deeply woven into the very challenges we face.

What was needed, then and now is realizing that God never is too far away from us or taking a day off. 

Looking back at the incident, I can only say that through it all I had a clear mind and a sense of deep peace.  Elizabeth was shaken, but she wasn’t hurt.  In fact, she was better than I could have expected.

No, I can’t recall thinking of the accident as a mountain-top experience.  In fact, my emotional reaction still lingers on, and I am sure that in Elizabeth too.  But it was last night, as I was writing these lines that I was aware that God was there with Elizabeth and with me even when we were between a rock and a hard place, literally nowhere to go.

Now, if you look at your own experiences, you too will find times when your faith was strengthened with blessings arriving from the most unlikely places.  As we read the story of the Samaritan woman, one cannot but find a sense of kinship, having all of us found God’s presence in the least expected places.

So, as we continue in our Lenten journey, let us reflect on the times in our own lives when we have felt pressed between a rock and a hard place, and remember that God’s grace was present even in the wilderness.

Let us walk through this season with confidence, remembering that we are never alone, and that beneath every challenge lies the possibility of unexpected blessing.  

So, let me pray that as we lean into God’s promises, your faith may grow stronger knowing that, even in the wilderness, grace is already at work.

Fr. Gustavo