Excitement for the day

So, as I was preparing to leave for rehearsal Sunday, I could not find my wallet. This isn't all that unusual an event. It is usually followed by five to ten minutes of frantic searching, followed by the "ah" moment when the wallet is found hiding under a potholder on the end table.

Not this time. I searched, my husband searched. I finally left with my license in the neck pouch where I carry my train ticket. He searched while I was gone. We both searched more when I came back.

Nothin'. We decided I must have left in my desk drawer at the office.

It was not there. I called NJ Transit, in case I somehow managed to leave it on the train. It wasn't there, either.

So we came home tonight with the intent to toss the place like burglars, until we found it. And as I was digging through a stack of folded clothes laid out to pack (in just two days), my husband tapped me on the shoulder, and handed me the wallet. I had hung it on the back of a folded chair resting against the bedroom door.

I can't tell you why. It doesn't remotely resemble any of the usual places. I can't imagine what I was thinking when I did it. But there it is; several varieties of catastrophe averted.

Even in the midst of it all, even when I was abjectly miserable and wanted to curl up and cry, I spotted little blessings. That business trip, a couple weeks ago? Because of that, my driver's license wasn't in the wallet. Nor was my passport. I had one credit card I could take with me, if I had to. I was very attentive to the accounts, and was reassured because I wasn't seeing any illegal activity. I think even in the very worst moments, I could hear Spirit chuckling at the private joke: all that fretting, all that panic, all that worry - all for nothing. As if she knew I'd find it once I realized I could manage even if I didn't.

I suppose I started this theme yesterday, and it isn't a bad approach, so I'll keep it as it comes to me. Travel is always somewhat like a pilgrimage for me. No matter where I'm going, I know one of the things I'm looking for is signs of God in this place, whatever place it is. To do that, I need not to be weighed down, not to be distracted and preoccupied. So Spirit laughingly reminds me...all you need to find me is eyes and ears and heart. Cash isn't required.