Ongkingco
Wake up, Tonette!” Steve gently nudged his daughter from her deep dreamland slumber.
“Is it time for ballet class, Daddy?” She squinted at the morning light and cat-stretched herself from head to toe, dangerously drifting back to sleep.
“Whoa! Ton.” This time he tickled her.
“Daddy, ssstop!” she said, giggling.
“Sadly, there’s no time for breakfast here, honey! We will go to a drive-thru if we want to arrive on time,” he kissed her on the forehead.
Tonette was up and ready by the time her dad had stuffed her belongings into the van.
“Don’t worry too much, Ton. It’s Saturday and traffic is lighter,” he reassured her.
“Shoelaces!” Her dad pointed at her shoes.
“Thank you, Daddy!” Tonette hopped into the back.
“Yipeee! Chicken nuggets! My favorite breakfast!” Tonette started nibbling and savoring her food.
As they waited for the lights to turn green, a small boy approached and begged.
“I’m really sorry, son,” Tonette’s dad said. “I promise to bring you something next time.”
The boy tried to smile, but his hunger immediately erased his joyful expression.
The lights turned green and they drove off.
A few meters from the intersection, Tonette suddenly said, “Dad, could I give half of my breakfast to him?”
“Honey, that’s very nice. But we could have done that earlier. ’Sides, we have to catch your class. And teacher Nikki won’t be very happy if you’re late again.”
“But it’s a Saturday, Daddy. Will I be really late if you make a U-turn?”
“Uh… I guess not,” Tonette’s dad rectified and U-turned.
They caught up with the boy, and Tonette gave half of her breakfast to him. The boy was totally surprised and speechless at their generosity.
As they sped off, her dad said, “That was a very nice thing to do, Ton. Thanks for making me make a U-turn.”
“Thanks for driving for me, too, Daddy,” Tonette’s dad held back an emotional lump forming in his throat as he admired her brimming smile through the rear-view mirror.
As Tonette peacefully continued to eat the rest of her meal, her dad thought, “It’s not like Ton to give half of her breakfast and being hungry at that!
What could have made my golden girl extend such a generous sacrifice?”
Steve brushed away his tears he didn’t want his little girl to see.
* * *
Sometimes we too wonder, like Steve, where these golden spiritual tokens come from. Don’t we often experience an inner touch to do something good for God and others, to rectify from seeking our own comfort and serving others instead, to forgo something we wanted to indulge in and give the money for alms, to feel like delaying that prayer but rectifying by doing it immediately?
We become aware that these spiritual U-turns were not simply out of habit, and much less by some genie or fairy godmother whispering good ideas to us.
It is more like the presence of Someone inside who makes us feel that we are loved and that our happiness depends on growing in connecting to that Love and sharing it with others.
This indwelling Love is none other the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
They find their abode in our souls in grace. And the more we become sensitive to their presence, our U-turns will be quicker and shorter. It will be a matter of simply turning around to face them, saying sorry and beginning again in a childlike conversion of love.