It wasn’t a dark and stormy night; instead, it was a bright
and windy cold morning. Nina and I offered coffee, tea, and prayer for
commuters from 7 to 9 a.m. this Wednesday. As usual there were not many takers
of the coffee or tea. And many probably didn’t realize that they were takers of
the offer for prayer. As we waved, with many returning our waves, we offered
greetings and silent prayers for those passing by. I have to say that I had two
favorite return waves. The first was a man holding and talking on a cell phone.
He waved his pinky finger at me. The second was a young girl riding with a man
I assumed was her dad. She waved at me while their car was several places back
in line at the light. As the line started moving, I waved again and she gave me
a big grin and another wave.
I am fairly sure that I speak for Nina as well as myself
when I say that we felt the presence of God’s grace this morning. Early on,
Brenda, a woman we have met in previous years, stopped by for prayer and a
coffee. Then came Joyce who drove past us and then made a turn down the street
to come back by. She was going to visit a friend in DC who has just been
diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. Then Larry walked by with a cane.
He was on his way to physical therapy and felt that coffee might help him with
his focus. He has been out of work for three months.
Suddenly in the midst of the two packed lanes of traffic, a
car wouldn’t start up once the light turned green. On the way to a doctor’s
appointment for her sick son, her car ran out of gas. Of course, cars were
pulling out around her and traffic was building up. We blocked the traffic, and
with the help of a fellow driver, we helped her coast across the two lanes and
into our parking lot. The doctor’s office is kitty-cornered from our lot. While
she took her bundled up kids to keep the appointment, Nina drove to get her a
gallon of gas in properly designated container.
Yes, there are people who drive past so quickly that they
don’t seem to see us, as well as the drivers who determinedly keep their eyes
straight ahead even when stopped right next to us. As a rule, people
acknowledge our greeting, some getting a pleasant kick from it. Instead of
being invisible tucked behind the trees, the derelict Miller House, and our
large parking lot, Christ Crossman becomes a presence of God’s grace even for
those who do not stop.
If you are interested in waving and offering coffee, along
with mostly silent and some spoken prayers, let Nina or me know. The more often
we have folks out there, the more people will begin to look for us, and that’s
what relationship with God is like. The more people see God at work, the more
they begin to look for the signs and then the more they than can see.
Hebrews 13:1-2
Keep loving each other like
family. Don’t neglect to open up your homes to guests, because by doing this
some have been hosts to angels without knowing it.
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