XLIII. God is in Control. July 25, 2020
>driving Lyft
>Nine in the morning on a Saturday
>pick up this young woman, can’t be thirty yet
>my first ride of the day
>she asks how it’s going, because of the COVID and all
>I say I am afraid it will get a lot worse
>she says “Yeah, I’m afraid so. But we have to look at God. God is in control.
>”My baby niece has it. She’s nine months old and they got her at Capital Regional.
>”Cain’t nobody go see her, not my Mama, not nobody. Cain’t even bring her a tablet, and that baby love Baby Shark. She’d watch Baby Shark all day if we let her. They got her on breathing treatments. They say she’ll be okay but they gotta keep giving her breathing treatments.”
>I say something dumb and inadequate, something like “Oh my God. I am so sorry to hear that.”
>I say my youngest child was born at Capital Regional
>and they took good care of her
>she says “yeah, I went there when I lost my twins. They called it an ectopic pregnancy, said I could have died, had to cut it all out, you know? But I look at God. My nieces and nephews are my life.”
>I am silent. Whatever ignorant-ass platitudes I could say would be useless and stupid
>she continues “My Mama beside herself cause she cain’t go see the baby. My Mama hate hospitals. The hospital in Gadsden County killed my sister, my niece’s Mama. She kept going in there saying she was having these bad headaches, and she was having real bad headaches, but they didn’t never do nothing for her. Then back in November she went for a bad headache and just fell out. They tried to take her to TMH but she died on the way. My Mama suing them right now.”
>…
>”That was November. And then in December we lost my brother.”
>I did not ask her how she lost her brother. I have no right to ask this lady questions
>”I keep telling my Mama to look at God. Just look at God. Cause He’s in control of all of this. There’s a reason for all of this. God’s got us.”
>so I drop her off at Wal-Mart
>and then I take her advice
>I look at God
>but I reckon He already knows my thoughts