by Aldo Siahaan
“Yo, I am here do not write me a ticket.” I came at the exact time my meter was expiring, I told to the Philadelphia Parking Authority (PPA) member.
Living in a big city such as Philadelphia has its challenges, namely parking a car. On a daily basis, I spend a large part of my time driving people in need to the hospital, the lawyer, bringing people to the welfare office and many more. Most of my time is spent in South Philadelphia or Center City. Yet, parking is a problem almost anywhere you go in the city, making your chances to get a ticket pretty high!
Although, about 50% of the members at Philadelphia Praise Center (PPC) walk to the church building, the other 50% who come by car often have to park 4-5 blocks away as that’s the only place they can find parking on a Sunday morning. For me, even though I live in South Philadelphia often I have to circle my block 5 to 7 times just to get a parking space, especially at night. When planning to go out as a group to dinner, usually we are looking for a restaurant that has a parking lot otherwise we could spend a half an hour looking for parking.
Parking for me is one of many stresses I come across. We all have stress in our lives and for various reasons. How do you react when under stress? What would be your reaction, if you find a ticket on your car`s windshield? Silent, angry, screaming or smiling. To be
honest, a lot of times I was silent but angry when receiving the ticket.
Twice in my experience, after receiving a ticket, I wait 2 hours from the scheduled hearing time before being seen. In the court room, other people that came like me were angry or some form of upset. When my turn was called, the officer did not give me a chance to talk or hear my explanation. I was very disappointed and annoyed and confused.
As Christians, in times of stress we need to remember to call on the Lord. To lay it in God’s hands. Like the parking situation in the city, a constant issue I have to deal with, we all have stresses that we have to learn to cope with. Let us remember that even if we feel rejected or unheard, like I did in the parking hearing, in contrast, as a believer we are so blessed because we are not just save but heard and accepted by God. That is the power of grace that I learned from parking war.
The opinions expressed in articles posted on Mosaic’s website are those of the author and may not reflect the official policy of Mosaic Conference. Mosaic is a large conference, crossing ethnicities, geographies, generations, theologies, and politics. Each person can only speak for themselves; no one can represent “the conference.” May God give us the grace to hear what the Spirit is speaking to us through people with whom we disagree and the humility and courage to love one another even when those disagreements can’t be bridged.