God Likes Tan Sedans?

"It's your retreat," said my spiritual director at yesterday's meeting in response to my question. No pressure at a Jesuit silent retreat, the only rule is silence, it's the retreatant's time alone and hopefully with God.  A spiritual director is assigned if desired, in which case it's a silent directed retreat, to meet with the retreatant each day for maybe 45 minutes to an hour to discuss whatever may be helpful to the retreatant. My task and objective has been to discern whatever God might have in mind for my +Time, specifically starting Fall 2013. It seemed important to me, is it to God, whoever or whatever God may be?

In 1977, while finishing up my Navy career and after retiring in 1978,  I decided to indulge myself and engage my lifelong car hobby with a little side business, an avocation, of car broker, in which I could sell and lease new cars of any make. Enormous fun, I did it two or three years and learned things about the automobile business, especially automobile pricing and finance, that no car dealer is eager for customers to know. Part of the fun was getting to know my customers, car shoppers and buyers who found out about my sideline and came to me to order their new cars. One was an army lieutenant colonel whom I visited in his Pentagon office two or three times. Each time I visited, he insisted we begin our meeting with prayer. OK with me.

Another, also in the Washington area, a woman who wanted a new Chevrolet Malibu. She selected red and chose her options and paid her deposit so I could place the factory order. A day later she phoned in a panic to say she had prayed over it and God did not want her to have a red car. She changed it from red to whatever new color she had picked and God had affirmed. OK by me, I'm just selling cars. All kinds of things were going on throughout the world at the time, was God concerned about the color of her new car? Is God interested in what I do with my +Time? Maybe I should just pray, "God, you have enough to worry over, just wave the sign of the cross over me as your blessing and I'm good."

The Jesuit discernment book my spiritual director gave me Wednesday to read for our Thursday meeting thinks otherwise, that God really is. Really is and really is concerned, and, if I listen, hear, discern, God has hopes and favored options for me that will bring me the greatest happiness and satisfaction In His Service.

Maybe so. Maybe that's why I ended up with this tan Buick sedan instead of the red convertible I wanted so bad after my healthy return from Cleveland.

Is that you, God? Speak up, I can't hear you.

TW+