There is a scene from the story “Out of Africa” in which Karen Blixen, played by Meryl Streep in the movie, gets one of life’s messages from her manservant, Farrah. She has set out on a three month trip to take supplies to the army on the border.
One night mid-trip while lying by the fire in the middle of the wilderness she confesses to Farrah, “I may have gotten us lost.” He leans up onto his elbow and replies, “God is great Memsahib; He plays with us.” God does play with us, and He has creative ways of applying the rules of the game.
If I were to tell you that this encounter happened to my friend Jason, you would choose to assume a ruse and place me into the story instead. Such scenes are played in movies and books in which a character seeks advice from another claiming it is for a friend. The audience knows the reality of the scene, but this actually is Jason’s story.
Jason had a party to attend and was anticipating the Friday night out. He has been widowed for years. He’s been “out there,” as some are apt to call it. He has been on numerous dates and “dumped” twice. He has begun to believe that he is destined to live the rest of his life alone. Jason once told me that “God places women in my path, and then teaches them to dodge.”
He has reconstructed his life; Jason is successful, affable, and confident except maybe when it comes to understanding women. He knows himself and his path. The trauma of his wife’s death and his Christian beliefs combine to create a sense of clarity that men his age strive to have. It was while we were seeking our individual paths that we met and formed a common bond. In brief Jason knows who he is, what he wants, and where he is heading.
That particular evening he was heading to the local supermarket to get something for the party, and while there he decided to stage a brief shopping foray. Somewhere between the meat counter and the frozen food section he became aware of her. She had a quiet mien and was as beautiful as she was tall. She possessed a casual self-assurance without any artifice. As a bonus she was of “mature” age. She was a goddess in denim, and he was smitten.
Jason continued his mission winding through the aisles with heightened peripheral attention. Still, he lost track of her and eventually moved to the checkout counter. He told me later that he was half-way out the door when he decided to go back. He had to meet her.
He headed to the left in the direction she had been shopping and spied her in the bakery section. Jason decided that she would likely exit past the deli and that he would intercept her there. Stationing himself before the lunch meat counter, he waited. He thought that his was a good plan except that having already checked out he was holding a bag in each hand. He wished that he had thought at least to ask for paper to better appeal to an earthy quality in the goddess.
Jason has the knack of knowing what to say; but this time he was ill prepared for what was to come. When the goddess arrived it was she who first spoke to him. Startled, he fumbled the ball and mumbled something about the party and the deli meats. He was further unsettled when he saw what he had missed earlier, the slimmest of bands around her left hand ring finger. Without hesitation, for at his age there is no time to lose, he queried, “Is that a wedding ring?”
“Yes, it is,” she responded with a nervous laugh.
Undaunted, “So, you are married?”
“Not exactly” the reply again accompanied with the giggle.
When she replied that she “not exactly married” Jason took a flying leap of faith and jumped in with “Do you want to be? I can skip the party, cancel tomorrow’s meeting, and we can be in Vegas by morning. With an afternoon wedding and an overnight honeymoon we can be back Sunday in time for church.”
When he told me this I thought, “That has to be the most creative pickup line ever.” Jason tells me lots of things only some of which I choose to believe. He once said a magazine article included grocery stores in the top ten places to meet the opposite sex. I must be starting to believe him because I have been eating more.
Jason’s hope, placed in his intuition and brash approach, soared as the goddess replied, “That is a wonderful offer, and the part about being back Sunday for church is particularly appealing.” Jason’s heart raced only to crash with, “But I have to decline because though I am not married in the conventional sense, without meaning to, I have misled you. I am married, married to Jesus. I am a nun.” He had met another dodger.
God is great.
He plays with us.
“God Plays With Us - A Brief Encounter”
Copyright 2006 © Michael J. McCabe.
All rights reserved.
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