Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: COMMUTE (07/07/16)
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TITLE: Miami Miracle | Previous Challenge Entry
By LeslieJean Anderson
07/14/16 -
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I bit my lip.
Then he sighed, “What’s the catch, Susie? I winced at the question.
“Well, the job has a bit of a commute.” I stalled, afraid to look at him. He’d retired but one of us still had to work.
“As in – just how far?”
“Miami. But the job comes with full benefits! And I’d be working with the folks who trained me at the rescue center when we first moved here. The ones we both liked so well. But I told them I had to talk to you first.”
I watched my beloved husband sit down to think. After many years of lonely single parenting, we'd met and enjoyed almost two decades of devoted wedded companionship. I didn’t want to leave him for so long each day. We were inseparable. And then there was my father.
“That’s a dangerous commute, Susie. But you’re a careful driver and we’d be able to pay off everything by the end of the year. But what about your Dad’s needs? His health problems are not getting any better.”
“I know. I told them that. But they said I could adjust my hours so I would arrive there an hour earlier and leave by 4:15. You’ll be here to check on him until I get home at 5:30, right?”
“Well, I have lunch with him almost every day anyway,” he admitted. “We can do this, Susie. You love your work with the rescue groups. We're a team. And we’ve got to keep the rice bowl filled,” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “I’m right proud of you, Sweetie, for landing this job.”
I hugged him. “My biggest worry is the traffic, Lewis. Its downtown. I hope it is in the nice area, but I don’t know for sure. I have directions, but there are some tricky spaghetti-bowl maneuvers to get off the freeway. You can’t see them on the map.” Lewis knew I was a good driver, but nervous in city traffic.
“Well, then let’s do a trial run tomorrow morning together
to see what it’s like. Your boss doesn’t have to know. Then you can give her your final answer. We’ll both pray about it tonight.”
The next morning we got in the car at my projected departure time. I’d prayed and asked God to give me some extra directions about accepting this job, and laughed at my prayer pun. I was ready for the trial run.
After an hour in heavy Florida traffic we were getting close to our exit, but the directions were very confusing. My anxiety grew, and I silently prayed for help. I silently decided that if I got lost, I wouldn’t take the job. It was just too far from home and too risky. Miami was foreign territory to me, and I wasn’t that brave.
Just then the cell phone rang. Lewis answered it and then handed it to me.
“It’s Wanda, your new boss, Susie,” I grabbed the phone.
“Good morning, Susie,” a cheerful voice said. “I thought I’d give you some more directions for your first commute on the job, if you should accept our offer.”
Then she proceeded to tell me the exact names of the exits, which lane to get into as we approached them and the exact turns to make to get around some one-way streets. I could see the signs as she spoke! As far as she knew, I was at home, and I recognized the answer to my prayer. I could feel God’s approval of my new venture and its infinite possibilities.
Lewis wrote down the turns I made and I thanked my boss for her thoughtfulness in conveying those important details. Maybe I would tell her someday about the miraculous timing of her call.
Soon, without making a single mistake, I pulled up the lovely downtown Miami high rise overlooking the beautiful Biscayne Bay.
“That will be my view, Lewis,” I smiled.
“Good job, Susie. You go, Baby,” he said, and then he kissed me on the forehead.
I smiled at him. “Thanks, Honey.”
I picked up the phone and called Wanda.
708 words This is a true story.
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