Everything Good

Almost every week I go for a walk around Woodbridge Lake in Irvine with my elderly lady friend, Pao Chi Chen. She is a Buddhist and I am a Christian so we have some pretty amazing and interesting conversations. This week we saw something unusual and in talking it through, I was once again reminded of how very wise she is.

As we approached the west section of the lake we noticed an elderly man in a wheelchair. Normally this wouldn’t be an unusual site, but for some reason this man and his wheelchair were all alone and parked just inches away from a steep set of steps leading directly down into the water. If his wheelchair were to move forward at all, he would immediately go tumbling into the lake…wheelchair and all….and he didn’t look like he was paying any attention to his circumstances.

It kind of scared me, so I started to approach the man to ask if he needed help. Pao Chi stopped me and said, “No need, he okay.” I was surprised by what she said, but she continued, “If you look at trees, 50 meters away, there is young Asian man. He is son watching over father.” I protested and said, “Well, shouldn’t he be right next to him to make sure he is safe?” Pao Chi answered with a smile, “Old man knows son loves him and would not let bad thing happen to him. Father loves freedom to be on his own…son loves father…everything good!”

I thought about what Pao Chi said and decided that she was right. Sometimes we have to give our loved ones the freedom to experience life on their own terms and trust that God is watching over all of us, always near, allowing us to test our freedom because He loves us. It might be scary, but in the end, “Everything Good!”

Freedom is the oxygen of the soul.
~ Mosha Dayan