Destination Banica!

Banica!

How quickly our dear Lord can completely rearrange a life.

Humanity's concrete is mere sand sifting thru the Lord's fingers.

---

A few short months ago my world was set in concrete. Same job for over 20 years. Same monthly bingo at a retirement home for 23 years. Third Sunday ushering at the Basical of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception for 13 years. Same weekly volleyball for close to 20 years. And after moving more than I care to remember, at the age of 45, I had finally embraced the idea that I was here to stay in my home of the last five years. With determination I set out this spring and summer of 2008 to complete all the changes and additions to my house that I had been hesitant to do and to fully make it mine.

And yet.... for the last several months, amidst this settling in, there was this quiet tugging at my heart, "You are needed.... elsewhere". With a sense of relief, I was able to hush that gentle inner voice... "I am already working for a worthy cause - the pro-life movement". I was needed by my employer as we were looking at a significant change to our donor database.... my database. But the voice persisted, grew louder. Never more so than during and after the homily by my pastor this Pentecost Sunday.

And then.... Scarlett came knocking on my door on May 9th. "Tom, I have bad news for you. We are letting you go....." I was surprised but not stunned because there was a new employee who had quickly been given the reigns of the organization and I was not a good mix with him or with the new staff he quickly hired. Working under his watch was not going to be without much sacrifice I could tell. But for the good of the cause, I had determined as I always had in the past that it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

And so here we were, Scarlett and I, friends and co-workers for 20 plus years, and now face to face for that most painful moment in an employee's career. Scarlett with tears in her eyes whispering over and over, "Tom, I am so sorry". And I.... I with a sudden realization... my heart leapt!! I can go!!!!!

My job, certainly a most worthy cause and yet... an obstacle to the Lord's calling for something more, something better, something more worthy. I can hear Him chuckling softly at me His stubborn and sometimes dense little one, "So Tom.... any other obstacles?" "Lord, what will I do with my house...." And quickly looking into his twinkling, loving eyes, peace settled in, "No obstacles, Lord."

And as Scarlett daubed her eyes, my heart smiled in a way it has not for years, "Here I am Lord, I come to do your will".

Between vacation time and an extremely generous severance package, I had 12 weeks of pay coming my way. On the drive home that day, I made a deal with the Lord, "I have 12 weeks of pay. I'll give you 6 of them. If you cannot find a place for me to go in that time, I will start to send out resumes."

I knew full well He could not refuse such an deal. It took him less than 72 hours to find me a new home. And I must confess that of those 72 hours, all but about 6 hours He was waiting on me to send the two emails I did send. First to Maire Egger (a member of my parish's teengroup from the days when I was in charge of it) who was serving her 2nd year as a missionary in Banica. She in turn referred me to Fr. Gee who had served as pastor in Banica for the last 5 years.

All the while, I was determined that I was not going to Banica - everyone went to Banica! I wasn't going to follow the beaten path. I simply wanted information about what to expect as an American missionary in a foreign country and I'd be on my way... elsewhere....

And then... Fr. Gee responded, "I was just asking who was going to take the Kirbys' place. I had a family lined up and that just fell thru". Knowing our Lord's seeming pleasure at arranging things with the utmost of precision, I think to myself that Fr. Gee surely must have gotten his "bad" news at the very moment on May 9th, that I got my own "bad" news. But in any event, his words struck a chord and I inquired what he was looking for... but inside I already knew the answer.... me. And already I knew I was, in fact, going to Banica. An hour or so later his reply made me laugh out loud.... "you'll get to train altar boys, work with the teen group, coach basketball and volleyball".... all things I have done previously.

And with that, I began preparing for Banica. And yet I know the truer answer is that all these years, a Master Sculptor has been chiseling and smoothing and preparing a stubborn piece of granite to be His vessel on a island in the middle of the Caribbean.