Beach Haven


  • Home
  • BHP
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Bedtime Stories

Where are my Glasses?

7/4/2017

0 Comments

 
I ride a commuter train into Washington DC most days for work. Its call the Virginia Railway Express (VRE). On my morning commute I tend to say my morning prayer and focus my reading on gospel topics. In the evening my focus is typically more related to work or just books I'm reading for fun.

A few Thursdays ago, while riding home, after a little reading, I got focused working on a crossword puzzle. I seemed to get maybe a little too focused. Before long the announcement came over the speaker that we were pulling into my stop. I quickly shoved all my stuff into my backpack. To my chagrin I was not finding my eyeglasses. I remembered putting them on the seat next to me, but they were not there. I checked all my pockets just in case, and a quick look into the backpack with no luck. I assumed they must have fallen behind the seat or something. The train was now fully stopped and the doors were about to close. If I didn't get off I'd have ended up riding to the next stop where I had no car to get home with. Exasperated, I gave up the search, and got off the train. After I got home I broke the bad news to my wife.

Neither of us were overly concerned. I have been having a little trouble focusing my eyes lately, so it was time for a checkup anyway. In the mean time I would find my old pair and use those. As it turns out, the old ones seemed to have vanished as well. We went to the optometrists on Friday only to find that they were closed that day. I was home because I had a doctor appointment that day and wasn't feeling all that well anyway.

Saturday we called the eye doctor to set an appointment, but only got voicemail. We drove in only to find that they couldn't fit me in for another two weeks. I scheduled the appointment and looked forward to a month without glasses. This is because the appointment is two weeks away. Then with prescription in hand I'd have to order new glasses. That would take another week or two. I had resigned myself to squinting and eyestrain.

The next Monday morning I boarded the train as usual, only not as usual. My normal perch is on the upper deck on a car with the seat backs toward the front of the car. I ride that way in both directions (to work in the morning and home at night). I get a better view out the window, and if there is ever a train wreck I won't get tossed from my seat. As I boarded this morning, the car was abnormally full. Every seat on the upper deck on both sides of the car were already occupied by passengers. I resigned myself to the lower deck on one of the side facing seats close to the entry door.

The ride went as normal. Several times I thought as a conductor passed that I should ask about a lost-and-found for my glasses. I didn't. Finally as we approached the final stop, my destination, one of the conductors literally sat down on a seat two feet from me on the first row of front facing seats. This means he was just to my right with nothing between us. I noticed the name on his badge, Robert Easley. He had pulled out a form to start writing something. I interrupted him and asked about a lost-and-found. He told me how to get in touch with them at the VRE offices. Then he asked where I lost the glasses. When I told him, he smiled. He reach to a latched cabinet a few feet directly in front of me and pulled out my glasses. He had found them on Thursday and had put them aside to turn in, but had not done it yet.

Now think about this. Each train has two or three conductors. Each conductor rides a train into Washington each morning, then rides another out of Washington each evening. They are occasionally rotated so they are not always on the same train schedule. I don't always ride the exact same train schedule either or sit in the same car. The train I take each way depends on how my work day is planned. What are the chances that all of these events would fall into place to put this specific conductor next to me in that exact moment in front of the very cabinet where he had placed the glasses. These little miracles I take as personal reminders that a loving Heavenly Father is watchful over us. I have had many similar experiences over the years. I am thankful that God recognizes when we need to see how he is mindful of us individually. Thanks also to Robert Easley for being a good person and conscientious VRE conductor. Clearly he was open to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, whether he understood it that way or not. After I thanked him he said, β€œIt was meant to be.”

Yes, I still went in for my eye appointment and now have new glasses, but until then there was less squinting.
​
Picture
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Michael Beach

    Grew up in Berwick, PA then lived in a number of locations. My wife Michelle and I currently live in Georgia. I recently retired, but keep busy working our little farm, filling church assignments, and writing a dissertation as a PhD candidate at Virginia Tech. We have 6 children and a growing number of grandchildren. We love them all.

    Get updates automatically by subscribing to the RSS feed below.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    September 2022
    July 2022
    April 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    August 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017

    Categories

    All
    Article Review
    Book Review
    Education
    Environment
    Event
    History
    Media
    Observation
    Opinion
    Philosophy
    Policy
    Presentation Review
    Project Management
    Religion
    Sailing
    Science
    SCUBA
    Sociology
    Technology
    Travel
    Travel Review
    Unexpected
    Unintended



Web Hosting by IPOWER