My mind goes back to the past, sometime in 2000. A time when I didn't get permanent job, yet. I have graduated from a good university with an excellent academic record. At that time, I thought it would not be difficult for me to get a job. As it turned out, I had to wait for that opportunity for a year and a half. I didn’t want to ask my mom to finance me. I didn’t have a heart to do it. My mom has been widowed for more than three years. She was a good manager of our house, especially in managing money for our life. She didn’t earn much, but we didn’t lack of anything. Even though she worked independently, and no relatives came to help her, she had faith that God would provide all of our need. That’s why I had the urgency to finish school as soon as possible so I could help her financially. I was sad that it wasn’t like what I had planned.
Then, there was a church friend who managed private tutoring service. I was offered the job. Even though I left school for a long time, I still can remember how to solve math and other science problems for junior and senior high school level. I got a student whose house was very far from my home, about 30 km. I took the job because I needed money for applying jobs. At that time, the application letters were sent from post office, or given away when I joined a job fair.
One day, I came to tutor my student with some money just enough for one trip: 2 times taking public bus we call angkot, and 1 time taking ojek (rental motorbike, with a driver). It was my pay day, so I thought I would have more money to get home. Unfortunately, my student told me that her parents weren’t home. I felt anxious; I knew I didn’t know how to get home with the money left in my pocket. It was late afternoon, already headed for sunset. The road I usually took by ojek before taking public bus was vacant; on the left and right side of the road were bare land. I was ashamed to ask my student to lend me some money. Finally, and now I thought it was an unwise and dangerous decision, I decided to walk.
On the way, still not far from my student's house, an ojek driver, out of nowhere, approached me from behind. "Neng (a Sundanese calling for a young lady), do you want to take ojek?" he asked. "No, Bang (a common name in Indonesia we use to call a stranger, a young man)!", I said it with a firm tone, to avoid being asked constantly. Strangely, he kept asking for the reason, because he knew that the road I was taking was impossible for a young woman to take a walk. Finally, I stopped, looked at him in the eye, honestly said, "I don't have money, Bang." To my surprise, he answered, "It's okay, Neng, I'm going to give you a ride for free!" I thought he might think I lied. So, I reiterated, "I really don't have money, sir!" He answered instead, "It's okay, Neng!" Because I saw he was sincere, I finally agreed. And I now think this is the another oddity. I am not the type to easily trust a stranger, but at that time there was not the slightest suspicion. I just trusted his sincerity. Finally, we arrived at the end of the road to take angkot, after 15 minutes ride.
During the trip, in angkot, I pondered the kindness of the ojek driver. It seemed that he knew I needed a help even though I didn't give a clue. He insisted offering me his service without asking anything in return. It wasn’t a wise decision for me to take a walk all by myself, on a long and empty street. I could have been robbed or raped on the street if he didn’t come. I felt like being encountered by an angel sent by God. To this day, I am still amazed and grateful for his sincerity. This experience gives me an encouragement during hardships because of pandemic. I don’t have to be stressful. If I do that I will ruin my health. God do exists and He work mysteriously to help out His people.
No comments:
Post a Comment