Oct
29
Written by:
Jayanthi
Monday, October 29, 2007
(Alternative Title Be Careful What You Wish For)
On page 139 of Eat, Pray, Love, Elizabeth writes, “…Richard found himself praying all the time. His prayer was always the same. He kept begging God, “Please, please, please open my heart.” That was all he wanted – an open heart. And he would always finish the prayer for an open heart by asking God, “And please send me a sign when the event has occurred.” Now he says, recollecting that time, “Be careful what you pray for, Groceries, cuz you just might get it.” After a few months of praying constantly for an open hear, what do you think Richard got? That’s right- emergency open heart surgery.”
Sometimes God is not so blunt. Sometimes we don’t know we get what we ask or wish for. Sometimes we don’t want to admit it.
I had a colleague. She had a car. The car was old, and costing a lot of money to upkeep. It also wasn’t the safest car. She wanted a new car. She said she was waiting for the right time to trade it in so she could get a little more for it.
Whenever I saw her, she complained about the car. What I remember most was her saying, “I want to get rid of the car.”
When I asked her how, she said she did not know, she did not care, she just wanted to rid of it.
Within a few weeks, she was coming in to work by bus. I wondered what was going on. I saw her. She said she got rid of the car, alright. It was stolen from her. She admitted she may have been careless, too. This is not something she would tell her insurance company, most likely. She had come home late a few nights ago, and parked the car on the street in a neighborhood where everyone parked in their garage, locking the door of the car and garage for double protection. This was needed in this neighborhood, as it was a neighborhood of crime, including car theft. Though I don’t know the details, it seems the car was parked on the road, unknowingly left unlocked.
But, was it unknowingly left unlocked? She really want
ed to get rid of that car in any way possible. Did her thoughts lead herself into a situation where she would be careless with the security of her car so that she could ‘get rid of it’? Though I did not ask her that, I did ask her to be careful in what she wishes for, because our wishes come true in unexpected ways.
Part 5: Blogging Through a Book: Eat, Pray, Love
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