Weekly Devotion

THE UNEXPECTED SOMEONE 

Encourage one another daily.  (Hebrews 3:13)

“Lord – may I be an encourager to someone unexpected this day.”  These were the closing words to a meditation in a small prayer book I use as part of my devotions each morning.  As I read them, I thought, “Hmmm…not quite sure how that will happen today.”  My day was pretty well planned, and I had little intention of being out and about.  I would spend most of the day preparing my home for a few friends who were coming over for dinner that evening.  Since I had lots to do at the house, the possibility of meeting ‘someone unexpected’ seemed out of the range of possibility as I would be having no contact with people other than those I had invited.

Before I got busy with the tasks at hand, I needed to take a run just a few miles away to check on a relative.  As I pulled out of my garage into the ally at the rear of my property, I noticed a van coming towards me in the opposite direction.  In order for us to pass, one of us was going to have to pull over and yield the narrow roadway to the other.  There was a place ahead for me to do this, so I made the gesture.  As the van came toward me, it slowed down a bit and the driver rolled down his window.  I did the same, glancing over to see a gentleman older than myself wearing a head covering similar to that of a kippa that Jewish males wear to show respect for God.  The man spoke with a fairly heavy accent, although he was understandable.  He stated that he was trying to locate a local medical clinic and he had gotten lost.  I told him to follow me, since the clinic he was trying to find was just down the street from the home of my relative.

As we traveled the short distance, this man in his vehicle and I in mine, I recalled the words of the prayer I had read just a few hours before.  I smiled to myself and said, “Thank you Lord for allowing me to be an encourager to this unexpected stranger I thought I would have no chance of meeting.  I guess, once again, I underestimated the realm of possibility that you offer to each of us every day.”

PRAYER:  Lord, forgive me when I misjudge the opportunities that you provide for us each new day.  Remind me that a simple act of kindness can sometimes provide the right direction for others who have lost their way.  Amen.

 

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