Come A Little Closer

This past fall my husband and I, and a friend, took a vacation to Philadelphia. It was our first time visiting this historic city. I will admit I prefer to stay close to home most of the time; so visiting a new, unfamiliar place always gives me a bit of anxiety, especially if it is a big city. Usually, for the most part, my anxiety is unwarranted, and I have an enjoyable time. Philadelphia was no exception.

There was one thing, though, that became a source of uneasiness for me and that was the unexpected challenge to find a parking spot each day when we returned to the row house we were renting in South Philly. As my anxiety kicked in, I would begin to pray to calm my nerves. It took 10-15 minutes to find a spot; and then, we would have to walk two, three and sometimes even four blocks, usually in the dark, in unfamiliar surroundings, to reach our house.

One evening as we returned shortly before dark, we found a parking space after about 10 minutes. Each time we had to park was a challenge, but this time the spot was tighter than usual. As we began to try to parallel park and maneuver into the space, we spotted an elderly man watching. I had my window down and the man approached us and began to give us tips on how to get into the space. I wish I would have counted the number of times we pulled up and backed up and turned our wheels to the left and then to the right as Joe, as we later came to find out was his name, assisted us. Several times I thought we were surely close enough to the curb, but Joe felt we could do better. He did not give up. Joe’s persistence was unwavering. When he finally seemed satisfied, I don’t believe you could have passed a piece of dental floss between our tires and the curb.

Before we trekked back to our house, we chatted a bit with Joe and thanked him for his help. As we began to walk, I couldn’t get this kind, gentle, persistent man out of my mind. I have often since thought about Joe. I liken his tireless and gentle ways to that of our Father in heaven. Like Joe, God our Father never gives up on us. God is always encouraging us to come a little closer to Him.  I will be honest, there were several times I wanted to tell Joe, surely we are close enough. I mean, seriously, how much closer did we really need to get to that curb? I often lack the same patience when it comes to my relationship with God. He calls. I hear. I listen half-heartedly. I pull up, I back up, I turn to the left and then to the right; and as I tire of listening and trying, I decide I am close enough. I want to move on to fulfill my own selfish desires.   I am so thankful that my Father in heaven does give up on me. He does not give up on any of us—ever. God wants us to draw ever closer to Him so that we might become like Him and carry on the work His son, Jesus, started here on earth.

I wish I could go back and thank Joe for this timely reminder, a reminder that I am not in charge, that I am not the leader, that I am merely a follower being called to come a little closer. When I allow that closeness, it is then and only then that I can humbly follow in the in the footsteps of Jesus.

As we are still in the infancy of a new year, let us embrace this challenge, this thought of coming ever closer to God, never tiring of pulling up and back and to the left and to the right, knowing God never gives up on us as he directs our ways. As God, our loving Father in heaven, asks us to come a little closer, how will we respond?

Brenda Hopf is a member of Divine Mercy Parish in Dubois County and also contributes to the “Sharing the Load” column in The Message.