September 23rdGod's License
The location is but a fast food hangout. The occasion is what matters! Bayak and I are meeting to celebrate. It has taken a few failed attempts, but he has just passed the driving test to finally procure his driver’s license! This after a considerable history including a previous examiner with a bad attitude and a lengthy coronavirus interruption. Finally the required Class 5 which allows him to drive his car legally. Family, social and church activities can now proceed with just a bit more freedom in this new country which he claims is a wonderful place, given the troubled South Sudan where he has come from.
We are both pleased and relieved. I ask him about this latest test, “Good, good. The examiner, he was a Christian.” Needless to say I enthuse about that good fortune, previous attempts already well-reviewed by us in previous conversations. His smile conveys something else however, which leads to my next question. “So Bayak, How did you discover each other? Did you tell him you are Christian, or did he first tell you?” “Oh”, he says simply and matter of factly, “I just bowed my head to pray before driving. I was nervous so I had to pray. The examiner bowed his head and prayed too. Then we knew we were both Christians”. No exuberance, no gloating, no fanfare; just another smile.
And so it is that this happy coffee meeting became in fact a holy occasion – a peaceful account of driving the streets of Calgary, a few errors pointed out by a helpful examiner, and the test not only survived but yielding the much needed license. Bayak and I have had many conversations by now, many of the problem solving theme, with his kind appreciation for my efforts to help with some immigration challenges and my admiration for his perseverance to that which he believes God would have him do. Faith conversation is common territory although our skin tone not exactly the same.
My friend is teaching me considerably about faith and the ordinary challenges of life - Faith and Life as we used to call it in various Bible College or conference affiliated things I have been involved in. I just learned a new thing about something I thought I knew a lot about. God is available in any and all circumstances. Do not hide your prayers or your confidence in God, for you may