Patience and Serenity

April 24th, 2009

This is a true story of the patience of an old man and the serenity of a little child.

February 2009, Gary and I had just come from a village in Upper Lofa County where we had been visiting for the past week, and were on our way back to Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia.  After finding an available taxi to take us to our desired destination at a fair price, we climbed inside, not knowing that it would be over three hours before we actually began our journey. We were the very first ones.

The second person to enter was an old man, dressed in simple trousers; wearing a tunic, box shaped hat, and rubber tire slippers. He was holding a wooden cane in one hand and a rooster in the other; the rooster’s legs had been  loosely tied to keep it from danger, and its bottom half was submerged in a plastic bag for sanitary protection.  He greeted us politely, scooted slowly into the back seat next to me, and then sat patiently waiting.

The next figure was a little girl dressed in frills and jeweled slippers, neat rows of decorated braids in her hair, and strands of tiny colorful beads around her neck and arms.  She slid inside, peered at me with wide bewildered eyes, and then cautiously cuddled next to the old man.  Shortly, her father arrived in his baseball cap, sneakers, and sleeveless vest; he lifted up his daughter and set her on his lap.  Feeling secure, she smiled at me, her eyes no longer timid but expressing delight at my presence.

Three hours later, the taxi was finally fully packed, with five in the back and three in the front! The driver was now ready to began our journey.   I felt like a skinny toothpick crammed into an already stuffed vial of hardy ones.  In fact, we were all so packed in that small vehicle that whenever the driver stopped to open our doors for a break, we fell out like a pile of stacked dominoes!

I was impressed during the entire length of our trip by the endurance of the old man and the calmness of the little child.  As we bumped along the roads for 13 long hours, miniature dust cascades blew through the windows and cracks of the doors, matting the little girl’s hair and face with grit. Yet she rested in her father’s arms, not ever complaining.  The old man laid his head back against his seat, patiently waiting, he too covered in an avalanche of dirt.  His rooster jerked around nervously trying to avoid the choking blasts of dust, but finally dropped its head in resignation of a battle not won.  Soon however, all three had nodded off to sleep:  the child, the old man, and even the rooster.

As I ponder on the peaceful calmness of that old man and little child during that very challenging ride, I think of the peace that Jesus offers to each one of us during these very tumultuous times.  His peace is a lasting peace!  Jesus says,  “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”