Theme: Divine Providence, Prayer

 
The delay

 
Murilo woke up early, as usual. He was a good man, hardworking, diligent and religious too.

He used to say the Our Father Prayer after waking up and asking for protection from the day's activities. After praying, Murilo got ready and went to the kitchen for breakfast. He didn't want to be late, because once he got to the company, he'd have a meeting with his boss.

Murilo ate bread and butter and washed an apple for a snack. But when he went to drink his coffee carelessly, he let the cup turn and poured the drink into his shirt. He regretted it because he wanted to go to work with that nice shirt. But he had to change it.

Eyeing the clock, Murilo began to pick up his things to leave soon. He took out his briefcase with the meeting papers, his cell phone, his wallet... Only the house key was missing.

He searched, searched, but did not find it. It was not on the table near the door where the keys were, nor anywhere. Murilo knew the key was lost at home because he had used it the day before.

- If the key is here at home, I'll find it! - he thought.

But after a few minutes of searching, Murilo remembered the meeting. Already worried about the time, decided to give up looking. Since his wife always came home after him, Murilo decided to ask her to leave her key or his key at their neighbor´s house, if she could find it.

And so Murilo finally left the house fast to make up for the missing minutes and get to the bus stop in time. However, Murilo met a very friendly friend along the way, whom he had not seen in a long time.

Murilo was polite, but under those conditions he even thought of pretending that he had not seen his friend, he was very worried about his delay. Anyway, the friend had seen him too and waving happily, approached to hug him.

They talked for a while, and Murilo, making it clear that he was in a hurry because of an important appointment, promised to see him soon for a visit.

They said goodbye and Murilo continued his journey. But as he looked at his watch, he was nervous. It was late. The bus would probably have passed.

Almost running along the sidewalk, he shifted his way and headed for another street to take another bus line.

Unable to avoid, he was thinking:

- What an annoying thing! It seems that everything is happening for me to be late today. Just today that is the day of the meeting! That's because I pray! Looking up, as if he was speaking to God, he said in a complaining tone: "It can´t be!"

Murilo took the other bus, got off as soon as he could, ran, and yet arrived five minutes late. But he was relieved when he realized that his boss had not arrived yet.

When the boss arrived, he apologized, explaining that he had been stuck in a traffic jam that had formed on the avenue near the company due to a serious accident.

Only later, Murilo learnt that one of the vehicles involved in the accident was precisely that bus he had missed.

He was startled by the news, he considered what had occurred to him in the morning. He remembered the phrases he had said praying, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" and "deliver us from all evil."

That was a day of deep thought for Murilo about Divine Providence and the value of prayer.

At night with his wife at home, his prayer was of deep gratitude.

Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com

marcelapradacontato@gmail.com