Out of the Blue is Worth a Third Look

Eligible at 75 years of age, I made an appointment on Monday, 1/18/21, at the San Diego Superstation/Petco Park for the Moderna vaccination. The appointment was for 1/20/21, a Wednesday at 2:15 pm.

Then, I heard about a Moderna batch at that site where they were concerned with several allergic reactions. That batch, distributed throughout California, was to be held while the situation was being studied. That suggested to me the supply might be inadequate on 1/20/21 at Petco. Then heavy afternoon rains and wind were projected for 1/20/21 and this was an outdoor site about 30 miles south of our home.

I was hoping for the best on Tuesday the 19th prior to the scheduled Wednesday. My cellphone rang. A nearby, medical office where I was a patient was the visual on the phone. The nurse who answered said, “Do you want the COVID-19 vaccination at 9 a.m., Wednesday.” I jumped at the offer. I canceled the thirty mile trip.

The office had an indoor option. This was not the questioned Moderna batch. I knew and fully trusted the physician at that office that was only five, not 45 minutes from my house. This physician’s office was the closest of all the practitioners I see.

To me, God intervened not because I deserved the break, but, because he loves me. He had handled every single detail of my concerns. I was and am flooded with the joy of His presence.

Perspective

“To love someone means to see them as God intended them.” Fyodor Dostoyevsky, the extraordinary 19th-century Russian novelist.

We need to see the best in ourselves and in those we love, sensing God’s perspective. One might see that perspective through others, through Scriptures, through our current circumstances, or even in one of our mysterious dreams. When people are tempted and pulled into their worst selves, they do harm. This time of year focuses on our best selves. 

In some wars, armed forces have even stopped shooting at each other on Christmas. If that’s doable, how about some progress refining our souls, by the grace of God, in ’22? Nobody said it was easy, but nothing meaningful is.

H. Robert Rubin, a best-selling, Amazon writer and author of Look Backward Angel, How Did I Get Through This? Please Save the Third Dance for Me (memoirs) and The Bloom is on the Rose (novelette), all available on Amazon.