You are reading this story today not because of chance, but because you should be and you are meant to be. Remember, whether you are a believer or not, every decision you make leaves a lasting impression on someone, somewhere, whether you see it or not. Your choices have consequences, both good and bad.
Do what you can to make sure that the ripples of your actions will be positive.
I wanted to share an experience I had this afternoon (October 4, 2015)
One of the things that stood out most to me from the sermon at church this morning is the fact that we need to be available for God to use us in whatever way He sees fit.
In my spare time I am an Uber driver and most of my Friday and Saturday evenings are spent in the car, on the road, shuttling people from point A to point B. This has been an excellent opportunity for me to share my faith with people, have some awesome conversations, and invite people to TPCC.
On Sunday afternoon I signed on to do some Uber trips while running some errands. On my way south on Michigan road I noticed a lady walking carrying a bunch of stuff just north of the Cost-Co parking lot. I decided to diverge from my intended destination to see if she could use an extra hand getting where she was going. When I finally made it over to that side of the parking lot she was nowhere to be found. On the way however, I did see two gentlemen walking, both carrying some bags in their hands. I pulled up to offer both of them my card for Uber and ask if they needed a ride anywhere. One of them promptly shrugged me off (the one carrying more bags, about 4-5) and may have even picked up the pace a little bit. A white dude in a mini-van wearing sunglasses and a camo hat was probably somewhat intimidating (not really.) The guy who was carrying only one bag in his hand asked what I charge for trips, how Uber works, so on and so forth.
I asked him to tell me a little bit more about what he was looking for and he explained that he and his wife are having some trouble getting to work (broken vehicle) and they have kids that they need to take care of as well.
As I drove the man over to where he and his family are living, temporarily in Motel 6 (as I would find out later on, see Update**) I talked to him a bit more about his situation and what's going on in his life. I knew at a very minimum the Lord had provided me with an opportunity to pray for someone in need and I asked my new passenger to do so (as I occasionally do with my Uber passengers.) He graciously accepted and then I learn that this man, D, gave his life to Christ about three years ago and has never looked back.
He said that he and his wife were just trying to put together a game plan on how they could figure out this whole transportation debacle and I was a blessing in disguise. He is a man of faith and a lover of Jesus. He proclaims God's promises every chance he gets and knows that our meeting was not a coincidence, but a divinely inspired crossing of paths. Writing out this part of the story doesn't really seem like anything over the top, but I guess the big picture here is that I saw someone who needed help and took a small step out of my way to try to be of some assistance. When I could not find that original person I wanted to help, I reached out to ask someone else if I could do anything for them. Simply because I made myself available I was able to help someone on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, just like we talked about that morning at church.
//I am truly amazed at how God can orchestrate the perfect timing of everyone's lives and interconnect us in this way that is incomprehensible by any stretch of a human imagination//
**UPDATE as of Sunday evening at 11:00pm**
I gave D my number and told him to call me if there was anything I could do for him, and he said he would probably call me later that afternoon to talk more.
I ended up hearing from D around 9:00 pm the same night. I didn't especially want to answer my phone when I saw a random number show up on my screen, but I am grateful that I took that call because D had decided to take me up on my offer and ask for help. He told me that his wife is working nights and asked if I could help with transportation for her. As I continued to talk with him, I learned that they were kicked out of their house by a landlord who had no interest in anything but personal profit, and that the Motel 6 was a temporary living situation provided by HIP (Homeless initiative program.) D also shared with me that he and his fiance have 6 kids between the ages of 3-15 and that not only is one of their vehicles broken, that is their ONLY vehicle.
They are looking for a more permanent home to house their large family and are meeting with their case worker over the next few days to find out how much longer they are able to stay at Motel 6.
What does this all mean for you?
I am praying that you will make the choice today to leave a positive ripple in someone else's life. I also hope you will forward this on to whomever helps in these kinds of situations and provide some assistance for D and his family. (Secretly I'm hoping one of you has Ty Pennington on speed dial and we can just do an extreme home makeover for them!)
Their main needs:
-transportation for Mom/Dad to get to/from work
-living arrangements that can be a long-ish term solution
Thank you for your assistance and for reading my extremely long email. Please feel free to find me on Facebook or email me directly, dwefler@gmail.com .
Here's to being available for God and all the amazing things He can do in our lives when we make time for Him. To Him be the glory both now and forever,
Amen
