“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
Hebrews 13:2 ESV
I don’t remember if it was a Friday or
Saturday night, but Jared and I got into a huge argument at the Oncue off of Tecumseh and Flood Ave. We were arguing for some time in his truck as we were parked in the parking lot. After 20 minutes, I noticed an elderly black gentleman walking by my passengers side door and staring into my window. He then proceeded to walk and sit directly in front of our car on the base of a light pole. Talk about awkward, it made Jared and I start smiling and speaking softly, in fear this guy was going to call the cops. After 10 minutes, the man started getting up from his seat and proceeded to knock on Jared’s drivers side window. Jared waves back at him to say, “Oh we’re fine,” but the gentleman kept knocking and pleading with us to talk with him. Jared rolled down his window and asked the man if he needed anything.
Now mind you, Norman is a college town, very safe, but still, dark parking lot, late in the evening and we were emotional.
As Jared spoke with the man, our reservations ceased as he told us his wife was having surgery and he needed a ride back to his house. Jared asked the man if he would sit in the back seat, right behind him. The man had a cane with him, (which brought back some hesitations) so immediately I was thinking of an escape plan in case he went for Jared’s jugular. My only option at that moment was my cell phone. I secretly dialed 911 as a safety precaution and was ready to press “send” at any given time if there were sudden movements.
As we drove along I-35, Jared asked him some questions. One was, “Are you from this area?” And another, “Do you go to church anywhere?” The man immediately said that he attended church and in fact was also on the worship team. Now being a worship leader, I asked if he could sing for us. He started singing soulful songs that made both of us cry. One in particular called, “God Won’t Let You Down.” Now the irony of that song is that our argument was just about that. Wondering if God was going to do what we believed He said He was going to do. When he sang that song so beautifully in Jared’s truck, a wave of God’s presence swept over us. The man began to tap my shoulder every time he sang the words “Have Faith.”Talk about being convicted. I began to weep tears of joy knowing Jesus was going to pull through. He always does!
As we got near to the exit of the man’s home, he asked Jared for 8 dollars to get gas for his vehicle. Jared pulled into a convenience store and went inside to the ATM. At this point, none of us had any reservations about him. He stopped singing and he turned to me as Jared exited the car and said, “Amy, you have high standards. (As he was saying this, he kept putting his hand high above his chest as to signal “high standards”, which made me laugh because I had been using that same sign when describing my standards to others.) He said, “Don’t go back on your word. You have to maintain a level of excellence in ministry and make sure you stay there. Don’t drop your standards.” He then said, “If your church listens to Him, they will go global.“
Wow, as I sat there I realized that God was speaking to me through this man. I have been created to plan and dream. Being a dreamer but also a doer, I’ve had 8 or 9 dreams working in my head on any given day. It drives many crazy.
As we left the convenience store, we found his home and dropped him off. I thanked him for the kind words and told him to keep singing. He smiled and said the same to me and got out of the truck. As we pulled around the cul-de-sac, we noticed the man still standing in the front yard. He smiled at us and began to wave goodbye. As we drove past, we waved and as I looked back after passing him, he was gone, nowhere to be found.
That’s why to this day I refer to him as “the angel from 44th and Grand.....”
Thank you Lord for your miracles and your wisdom. Thank you for sending your messengers to your children in their time of need. You are truly my God, my God who sees me.
“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Psalm 91:11 ESV
From a traveler just passing through,
Amy
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