I had decided to go to the 6:00 a.m. service at Faithful Central Bible Church today, but when I woke up at 5:00 a.m., it was raining, cold and dark and I was still tired so I set my alarm clock for a later time so I could go to the 10:00 a.m. service. On my way to the church, I saw a guy running down La Brea Avenue with his hand in the air as if he was trying to hail a taxi. It was not a taxi, but the bus which moved away from him to the middle lane and kept on moving down the street. I felt that I should give him a ride and I was not worried about being late for church because of it. I turned around and pulled up on his side of the street. I asked him if he was trying to catch the bus and he said, “Yes.” I asked him if I could take him to his destination. He saw the Uber sticker in my window and said, “Are you Uber?” I told him that I was not working and could give him a ride without charging him. He smiled and got into my car. He asked me where I was going and I told him, “I am going to Faithful Central.” I then asked him where he was going and he replied, “The same place.” We both laughed and rode on down the street, talking and laughing. When we arrived, he pulled out $10 and before he could hand it to me, I said, “I can’t take that, just do something nice for someone else, that is how I do it.” He asked, “Is that what you want me to do?” and I said, “Yes, that is how I do it.” He said, “OK and I want you to take this money. That’s how I do it.” I chuckled and accepted his money. We were walking through the parking lot to the church when he stopped and said, “Oh no, I think I left my phone in your car and then he apologized profusely while we were walking back to the car. I kept telling him not to worry because I needed the exercise. We both laughed. He got his phone and we walked back and entered the church with the choir and congregation singing. As I went to my seat, I was grateful that I was in the right place at the right time. May that continue to happen. As for the $10, I am going to get ten single dollar bills and keep them in the door pocket so that when I drive pass people on the street who are asking for money, I don’t have to fumble around in my bag and miss the opportunity to give them their dollar.
Tag Archives: Order my steps
One Happy Meal
A few days ago, I was driving home. It was dark and I decided to go to McDonald to get a happy meal (I keep the toys for the kids’ baskets that I make at Christmas). As I drove up, there was a choice of two lanes to drive through. I squinted at the menu and in the first lane there was a woman huddled under the sign clutching her belongings close to her chest. I decided to go to the other ordering station, but while I sat there, I started to feel ashamed. What was wrong with me? I had intentionally avoided someone who was in need. I lost my appetite, but I went through the drive-thru and ordered a happy meal anyway. I circled back around to see if she was still there and she was gone. I shook my head and just sat there. How could I have been so selfish? I was disappointed in myself and then I stopped thinking about myself and did what I do best…find people. I looked over to my left and saw the shadow of a small woman walking slowly through the parking lot with her head held down like she was watching her feet. I secretly prayed this was her. I drove slowly up to her, rolled down my window and asked her if she was hungry. She turned and said she was so I gave her the food. She thanked me for the food and immediately went over and squatted beneath a nearby tree. She looked down, placed her belongings closely beside her and began eating slowly as she looked around in the darkness. You could barely see her squatting there in the shadow of the tree that kept the luminosity of the street light from giving her away. I learned a valuable lesson from that encounter. Sometimes, it does not matter if you hesitate to do something right as long as you do it.
An Obedient Heart
I had decided to go to the 6:00 a.m. service at Faithful Central Bible Church today, but when I woke up at 5:00 a.m., it was raining, cold and dark and I was still tired so I set my alarm clock for a later time so I could go to the 10:00 a.m. service. On my way to the church, I saw a guy running down La Brea Avenue with his hand in the air as if he was trying to hail a taxi. It was not a taxi, but the bus which moved away from him to the middle lane and kept on moving down the street. I felt that I should give him a ride and I was not worried about being late for church because of it. I turned around and pulled up on his side of the street. I asked him if he was trying to catch the bus and he said, “Yes.” I asked him if I could take him to his destination. He saw the Uber sticker in my window and said, “Are you Uber?” I told him that I was not working and could give him a ride without charging him. He smiled and got into my car. He asked me where I was going and I told him, “I am going to Faithful Central.” I then asked him where he was going and he replied, “The same place.” We both laughed and rode on down the street, talking and laughing. When we arrived, he pulled out $10 and before he could hand it to me, I said, “I can’t take that, just do something nice for someone else, that is how I do it.” He asked, “Is that what you want me to do?” and I said, “Yes, that is how I do it.” He said, “OK and I want you to take this money. That’s how I do it.” I chuckled and accepted his money. We were walking through the parking lot to the church when he stopped and said, “Oh no, I think I left my phone in your car and then he apologized profusely while we were walking back to the car. I kept telling him not to worry because I needed the exercise. We both laughed. He got his phone and we walked back and entered the church with the choir and congregation singing. As I went to my seat, I was grateful that I was in the right place at the right time. May that continue to happen. As for the $10, I am going to get ten single dollar bills and keep them in the door pocket so that when I drive pass people on the street who are asking for money, I don’t have to fumble around in my bag and miss the opportunity to give them their dollar.
With the Right Heart
I had a very important meeting a few days ago and it went very well. On my way home, I stopped by my favorite chicken place to get some biscuits. Believe it or not, I don’t go for the chicken, but I love the biscuits. When I drove up to the window, I ordered my biscuits with an excitement that I could hardly obtain. Then, I stopped and had the feeling that I should order lunch. I didn’t really want to order from this place, but my stomach reminded me that I was indeed hungry so I ordered a shrimp lunch. When I got to the window, I asked the clerk what came with the meal and she said it came with a biscuit and fries. I didn’t really want the fries so I asked if I could substitute the fries with coleslaw. Her face told me that was going to be a problem so I smiled and said, “The fries are already done, huh? Ok, that’s alright.” She smiled at me and said, “Don’t worry, I will just give the coleslaw to you.” I thanked her and when she handed me the food, I said, “Have a blessed life!” and drove off as she stood at the window smiling.
I still had to get gas so I said lovingly to my car, “I am going to put some gas in you right now. Please don’t strand us.” I came to the next intersection with gas stations on three corners. I reluctantly chose the Shell station (nothing personal. Shell). When I drove up to my pump, I noticed a man asleep against the wall. He had a half bottle of orange juice next to him and crumbled trash bags surrounding him. I now understood why I had bought the food. I walked over to him and without waking him, I placed the food beside him and walked back to my car to continue pumping gas. I prayed to God to make his food invisible to everyone, but him. I did not want anyone to take it. As I pumped my gas, I smiled at the thought of him waking up to a hot meal and then I thought that I should wake him to make sure he knew he had food. I drove by and said, “Excuse me, sir.” He woke up and seemed a little disoriented. I smiled at him and said, “I bought some food for you.” I had to point to the food because he was still waking up. When he looked over to where I was pointing and saw the food, he smiled the most sincere smile and his face looked overjoyed. He immediately opened the box as I drove off around the back of the gas station. Then it hit me, I should give him the bottled water too…but my last two biscuits too?!? I was still hungry, but I drove back around and got out of my car and gave him the water and…yes, my last two precious biscuits (if you only knew…lol), He thanked God and so did I as I drove down La Brea smiling with my stomach growling.
T.A.P. into the Possibilities 