18 February 2024

Right place, right time

I woke yesterday later than usual because I had a case the night before. I stepped outside, and was headed to my office in the garage…but the day had such a good feel to it, the sky so clear, the air so fresh, that I walked past the garage door and into the driveway. Looking up at the sky, I exclaimed, ‘What a beautiful day!’ To my surprise, I heard a male voice respond, ‘What?’ I looked to the end of my driveway, and there was a man standing there, and now he was walking toward me. I said to him, I was just commenting on the day. It sure is beautiful. I introduced myself. He said he was on his way to the bus stop, and then asked if I might give him a ride to the library to use the computers. I said, sure, why not. On the way, I learned a little more about him. He had returned to Minnesota with his wife in the hope of staying here permanently. I asked if he were living in the apartments just down the road. He said, No, I am living in a tent in the backyard of relatives. My wife found a room with some people but I can’t stay there. I asked if he had enough to eat. He said occasionally he needed some, so I invited him to the food shelf at our church. It has been a struggle, he admitted. He had picked up a few jobs but was currently unemployed, and planned on applying for unemployment. About then, I asked if he believed in God. He said he believed in a God, in one God but…he paused, and then said, I believed in God until yesterday. I glanced over at him, a bit taken aback by his comment. He saw my questioning glance, and further explained, it has been such a struggle lately that just yesterday I decided not to believe in God any more. I asked if he had reached out to a church for help. He said he had gone to a few churches. The one church he mentioned, I had gone to as well, and I told him a brief version of my faith history, and how I had come back to God. I told him that God continued His work in my life to this day. About that time, we were pulling up to the library. He asked if I had an Ibuprofen. He woke that morning with a migraine that would not go away. I dug in the console and found a small bottle. I handed it to him, and said, keep it—there were only a few left. I saw a Rosary in the console; I had put it there just in case I met someone who needed it. I handed it to him, and he said, I would not refuse a Rosary. He stuck both in his pocket. I asked if he minded if I said a prayer for him. He said that would be fine. I said a short prayer asking God to have mercy on him and to help him get his life back together so he could be with his wife, struggle less and find a path back to God through Jesus. We exchanged phone numbers because I told him I could give him a ride to the food shelf the first time so he knew where it was. Then I wished him well. He stood at the passenger door as if thinking, then looked up and said, you know, the minute you finished that prayer, my migraine went completely away. He said thanks. I said, thank God. He nodded, then closed the door and walked away. There is no doubt that the Lord has compassion for our pain. He knows our thoughts and hears all of our prayers whether we say them in joy, in pain or in anger. If you call out to God; know that you will be heard, and an answer will come in due time…God’s will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven…

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