We are on the bus from Rivas to Granada and this bus ride is different because they had us bring our big packs inside with us. The drivers had a hard time shoving our packs on the tiny racks above the seats; I shared my seat with my guitar and everyone’s lunches. Right before driving away the driver told me that if my guitar was taking up a seat I would have to pay for it. Frustrated that we couldn’t put our packs on the roof like we have before I sat my guitar on the backs of the bus seats in front and behind me.
Immediately I felt like crying. This is miserable; I am sharing a bus seat with my daypack, a Nicaraguan lady, and her eight-year-old daughter while my guitar pleasantly blocks the window. I closed my eyes and decided it would be a good time to pray.
“Lord, help me find the joy in this situation. I don’t want to be cynical or miserable or sad.” Only a minute later I turned around and a real live chicken was popping its head out of a man’s bag. I instantly got the giggles and knew that God brought me that chicken.
A catchy Spanish song came on the radio and I tapped my fingers to the beat on my guitar case. The young girl beside me started to do the same. (She had been watching me closely since she sat down). I smiled again; thank you Jesus for this joy.
I began to see God everywhere I looked on the bus. In the little girls laughter – so what if she was laughing at me. In the hairstyle in front of me that reminded me of a joy that only God could give a girl completely surrounded by miserable conditions on a Nicaraguan chicken bus. And the best part of the whole thing is that the strongest joy of all came from the overwhelming love I felt from the lord. He heard my prayer; he sees where I am, and he blessed me.
Thank you Jesus.
-C
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