This year, when my sisters and I all met in Okinawa, my sister Janice came over to my place on the way. Altho' she expected it to be warm where she was going, she wore her jacket to be on the safe side while traveling. But she found it sweltering in Tokyo so shed the unnecessary layer before rest of the trip.
I'd told the park animals when my sister would be coming, and they were all there that day. The mallards--greenheads and spot-billed types both--came out; the Kawasemi bird even gave a fishing demonstration; the great blue heron and egrets filled the sky; numerous carp came swimming in the ponds.
Later, my sister told me she had to make a phone call to Immigrations. She'd left her jacket in the women's restroom, she said. Maybe someone could look for it? We were supposed to go to Okinawa the next day, which meant we'd be going back to the airport tomorrow--if we stopped by Immigrations then, and it had been found...was there a chance she could get it back at Lost and Found? It's not only that it was a nice jacket; it was a gift from her husband.
Remember the story of the "Brown Bird" when the companion eagle saw him eyeing the mouse on the ground and said simply, "Get him. You can do it."? Well, it was like in a moment, I could see how a Heavenly Father could line up mallards, small birds, large herons, fish in the water. Surely, He could get a black jacket, couldn't He? It's like I heard a small "You can do it."
"It's nothing to You God, right?" I prayed silently. "Black jacket by tomorrow's flight?"
The next morning, we'd been given no guarantee about the jacket--it hadn't been found every time we asked. But we went anyway. The cellphone connection was bad; and we got sent to the wrong airport terminal--good thing we were very early--but after half an hour or so, an airport staff person came walking with a piece of black clothing draped over his arm...
In a few minutes, my sister was filling out a claim form for a black jacket.
