Fourth confession: Station wagon or Van

Jan. 14, 2013

Yesterday we recognized the Baptism of the Lord, and the homily asked the question: Do you, like John the Baptist, recognize Christ for who he is or do you walk past him in your daily life without seeing him?
I thought of all the people in my life: my husband, my children, their friends, my neighbors, the children at the hospital where I work and my elderly relatives. I felt relatively sure that I see Christ in the people around me.
But when we walked out to the car, I learned that my vision isn't as clear as I thought. Before I continue this story, I should tell you that we have three old cars: two green station wagons and one maroon van. Most of the time, we drive one of the station wagons.
So, we are walking out to the car, and my husband is holding the umbrella because it is raining. I'm following him because he has the umbrella, but I cannot see our car. No matter how hard I look, I can't find it. Finally, I ask him, "Where in the third row did you park?"
He points straight ahead: "It's right there."
And he was right. The maroon van was right in front of me. I didn't see it because I was looking for a station wagon. How many times in my life do I not see what I am looking for, when it is right in front of me, because it doesn't look the way I think it should?
It's a sobering question.