Sometimes bad things happen for a reason...

Here’s two examples why:

One: My dad had to make an impromptu trip to Pakistan because my grandma is really ill. My other grandma (mums mum) wanted to give my dad a few things to pass on. As both my parents were scrambling around the house in a last minute rush, the job of picking my grandma up was given to me. Now when you go to my grandma’s house it’s not a simple matter of waiting in the car and honking the horn and waiting. You see, the true proprietor of the house is my 2 year old cousin, who to be frank, is a huge mass of hyperactive energy compacted and compressed until it resembles an extremely cute child. So one cannot possibly just wait outside but is actually met at the door with shrieks of excitement and indistinguishable yet highly amusing chatter emitted from the said mass of energy. Coupled with the fact that I could see my grandma speaking furtively on the phone to someone I thought it best I go in. So in I went to the delight of my cousin, it turned out my grandma was on the phone to her nephew in Pakistan giving him stern instructions on the money she was going to send via my dad. This was going to take a while. So I made my self comfortable and began an attempt to translate what my cousin was saying (he was telling me his mum was in the conservatory but he couldn’t pronounce it properly). Half an hour later my grandma was off the phone and ready to go. A couple of minutes later we entered the oddly eerie hush that was our house, my mum was praying and I presumed everyone else was upstairs probably doing the same. My mum had just finished her prayer and turned to me with a look of anger in her face,
“why were you not answering your phone!” she shouted, it was then I remembered I had left my phone in my car before I went in to my grandmas…I hadn’t planned on staying half an hour…
”I left it in the car”…I muttered.
“You weren’t answering your phone, their house phone was engaged, they waited for fifteen minutes and you didn’t come so they’ve gone!!”, “they” of course referred to my dad and his friend who was going to drop him off at the airport…
“They’ve gone!” I echoed stupidly in disbelief
“Yes!” my mum snapped back. I couldn’t believe it, I’d missed my dad. I wasn’t expecting him to leave so early, I mean we had been checking the flight details online at irregular intervals since the night before and the plane was delayed by a good few hours, due to the heavy fog in Lahore. I couldn’t get over it, I felt tears welling up in my eyes, all sorts of horrible ideas filled my head, what if something happens, what if I never see my dad again. I didn’t get to say goodbye, I began to text him but I really didn’t know what to say, it took me about 15 minutes to word it and then send it. A couple of minutes later he rang back and he had a go at me for staying there for so long, but he calmed down and I bade him a safe trip. I still couldn’t get over it I prayed that he got there and back safely, every ounce of energy in my body willed him to get back home safe and sound. I prayed like I’ve never prayed before, until I knew there was nothing else I could do…

A couple of hours later my mum went to one of her friends house who was ill, and there was a phone call, my brother who was in the other room answered it. About 15 minutes later he came in and said my dad is coming home because his plane was delayed even more. A wave of relief spread over me, and I think a big cheesy grin actually spread over my face. An hour or so later my dad came and stayed for a good few hours and I got to say good bye properly. Yet I couldn’t help thinking that if I hadn’t missed my dad the first time would I have prayed with so much determination?!

Lesson learnt: Bad things bring you closer to God

Two: Me and Mishy went to watch Yesman a week or so ago, ok so this isn’t a personal example but it’s a good example all the same. The main character agrees to give a homeless person a lift in an attempt to “yes” more often. Then whilst on the journey the homeless individual asks to use his phone, of course our protagonist agrees, after all he is a good natured version of his old self. Yet he didn’t realise how prolonged his conversation would be , you see, contrary to appearances our homeless person is actually very popular. So our homeless person arrives at his destination (which by the way is in the middle of some sort if park/reserve in the dead of night). By know he is kinda taking the mick as he asks for some money, on seeing that the driver has rather more than he is giving out he asks for all of it, once again our good intentioned driver acquiesces. The result of his kind actions? He is stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead phone, no petrol and no money. Thus he treks all the way back to civilisation to fill a gallon up with petrol…and who does he meet there?? The love of his life….

Lesson learnt: Some good does come from bad things…