Dear Family and Friends,
If you were to make a list of ways to become friends with
people, smashing into their mailbox would probably not be on it.
But that’s exactly what I did the other day, as I was
pulling out of the driveway. It was rainy and I had just put a bike rack on the
car I use, when from behind I heard a sickening crunch. The bike rack had
slammed into one of our neighbors mailboxes, leaving it in pretty bad shape.
Gulp!
No one answered when I knocked on the neighbors door, so I
left a note. “Yes, a priest has just vandalized our mailbox” – Imagine them trying
to figure out that one!
It was only a week later that we were finally able to talk
and I could apologize. We struck up a conversation, and it turns out we know
all kinds of people in common. The wife had gone to the prom with my dentist
back in High School. They are heading to Italy soon, so I was able to give them
some advice on how to spend their time. One of the other priests I live with
joined in, he told them about his home country of Spain, and we had a grand old
time. We ended up chatting for about an hour and a half.
And became friends! And it all started with that horrible,
terrible, no-good rotten rainy day when I slammed into their mailbox!
Sometimes it’s hard to understand why God lets bad things
happen. It’s because we’re free (He’s not the one who crashed the car into the
mailbox, I am) and because He loves to bring good out of what we think can only
be bad.
Maybe it’s also part of his sense of humor!
You are in my prayers,
Father Kevin
