Once Again, The L-rd Is On Time

Last summer, a couple of months before I entered the CELTA course, I bought Roots on DVD. I have been a big fan of Roots since I saw it on television when I was twelve or thirteen. The story of Kunta Kinte's efforts to be free, of Kizzy's attempt to build a happy life in spite of being owned by a man who raped her, of Chicken George's struggles against that same rapist, never gets old for me. But when I watched it on this DVD, I got to see some things I had not seen before.

Among the other special features was a special that had aired on ABC one year after the momentous original broadcasts of Roots, examining the cultural sensation that the book and miniseries had been. Alex Haley was interviewed for, and partially narrated, the special. And at the end of it, he said something I have been mulling over ever since:

"The L-rd," his grandmother used to say, "may not come when you want Him to, but He will always be on time."

I have thought about that sentiment a lot with respect to the tribulations I have had the past few months. Nothing has gone quite the way I thought it would--not in Taiwan, and not since coming home. I have had seemingly endless delays in getting myself into a good teaching position abroad, and that position abroad will itself be a delay in getting into the kind of graduate program I know I need to get into evetually--one leading to a clear career goal in the professions.

But nonetheless, things have come together. Not as fast as I might have wanted them to, but they have come together.

Friday, my passport and visa shoudl be sent back to my by the Russian Embassy in Washington. I will have them in my possession probably no later than next Monday or Tuesday, and will be able to book a flight for the following week. The journey to Moscow I have anticipated these three months will at last take place.

Looking back on the time I have spent at home, I have some cause for satisfaction. I managed to accept a new position a mere three weeks after leaving Taiwan, proving that there are jobs out there in ESL/EFL. I have managed to revive all of the Russian I knew at the end of a semester of Russian in college, langauge I had thought gone for good. I have read a few books on Russian culture, so that I will not be going into Moscow as ignorant of cultural niceties as I was in Taiwan. And I have gotten back on antidpressants, which should tremendously improve my chances of succeeding in Russia.

For the first time in my life, I feel as if I am making important life choices with my eyes wide open, not just grabbing onto the first thing I see. The experience of Taiwan and of the last three months has, I think, made more mature, made me like myself better. I am now considering a few different career paths--in the Jewish community, in teaching, in library science--that will be a better fit for me than what I was pursuing before I left New York.

My life, finally, is going somewhere.

And once again, the L-rd is on time.