Accidentally Charitable

I wanted to go for a run. Simple enough, although very naive of me when you consider the fact that I assumed it would be a reasonably straightforward ordeal. It was Saturday morning, and the car which I shared with other members of my diocese was purloined for reasons unbeknownst to me. I needed stamps for my graduation invitations, so my objective was to run to the nearby supermarket to pick them up. Unfortunately, it began to rain before I had begun my run. I looked out my window and thought to myself: You will be the only nut-job running in the rain this morning, so expect to look fairly ridiculous in public, but I'm gonna do it anyway.

My mind being thus made up, I started out of the college building at 9:12am.

Now, I have made this run a couple times during the course of my college career, and it usually takes about a half-hour. I approached the first traffic light and noticed that there was a cop-car sitting in front of the road with a "do not cross" sign stretched thereon. Great, I mused, someone must've gotten shot. So I took a right and kept running in order to find a way around, but street after street was blocked of with those ever-smug "do not cross" signs. After running several blocks down the road, I finally found a street which was not thus barricaded. I took this as a stroke of good fortune and ran down that road, hoping that I could eventually find my way to some region of the world I recognized. I knew I was in or near the town of Narberth, PA. As I was running I noticed a small white sign with blue print planted in the grass by the road that read something to the effect of: "Narberth Children's Charity walk/run" Ahh, I said to myself, that explains the closures... Sure enough, on the road ahead, I saw a group of kind-hearted people running, in the rain, for charity.
I wanted nothing to do with that.
I wanted stamps.
That's it.
 So, it was my full intention to run straight past these people and carry on my own merry way, provided I could even find my own merry way, to the supermarket. The Children of Narberth had other plans.
As I approached the street these runners were crossing, runners of all ages panting their hearts out for this noble cause,  a spectator, believing that I was a stray charity runner participant, waved me into the group.
So here I was, now suddenly registered, participating, wet, stampless, and running for charity.
I didn't know exactly what to do. It was then I saw yet another sign, next to a large digital clock, which read: "Mile 4" My heart crashed to the asphalt. I knew that a 5k was about 3 miles, so I hadn't the slightest idea how long I would be running for. People were standing on the sides of the street, on their porches, in the backs of their trucks, clapping, cheering me on, trying to give me water and "high-fives". I was completely and utterly trapped. I dare not break away from the throng of runners, for fear that they may form a lynch-mob and hang me for charity... And I would feel like a jerk.

As I was giving up hope of ever returning to the seminary, I turned to my left and noticed a Catholic school with which I was familiar. Then I looked to my right, and saw the catholic Church who owned said school. I wound up right where I wanted to be. I ran down the main street and past the finish line, my final time coming to about 47 minutes... not too bad.

People applauded my accomplishment and I walked wearily into the supermarket. I was standing in front of the registers, wet, tired, frustrated, clutching a yellow Gatorade so as to restore my electrolytes. And I realized then that I had forgotten what I had gone to the supermarket for in the first place. Thankfully, I was on my way out when I remembered the stamps...

The connection: I wanted stamps = we have plans; for our future, our families, our vocations. So we set out trying to reach those goals and execute those plans. Then, as the path lay seemingly straight before you, all of a sudden, you get Shanghaied into doing something you didn't intend to do. I just wanted to run to the supermarket and back. The Narberth community had other plans for me. So too with God. He upsets our well-laid plans and schemes and sends us down a road, the end of which seems nowhere in sight. For me, in terms of my vocation, this has meant getting sent to Rome for my theological studies (I'm going to Rome, by the way).
We get "lost", we get confused and disoriented. We may even get angry or frustrated with God, but we keep on running. We must keep on running. Because sooner or later, you will reach that goal, you will find your vocation, and all along we will have people cheering for us, giving us high-fives and offering us water. This is especially true as a seminarian. I am supported by so many people whom I hardly know, it's incredibly humbling.
The detour God puts us on may or may not be what we set out for originally, but in the end, it will be better than we had imagined in the first place. take me for example: I ran 5 miles for charity and I got my stamps. It worked out pretty well for everyone. So just keep running. You'll make it eventually.