Please take the time and listen, when the Lord nudges you. This experience has totally changed my life. You never know when the Lord is going to use YOU. In this case I was the impatient stranger, angry driver , I was the one who refused to approach this hurting woman.
I read this amazing story this morning posted by http://homesteadsurvival.blogspot.com/ thank you Cathy for re-posting it.(See Below) The Lord began to show me the times he has called me to stop what I was doing and obey HIM. I am so ashamed to say I have missed the mark many times. One time in particular the Lord showed me a divine appointment He had set up.
I was coming out of the pulmonologist's office, after being given a good report of my lung function. I immediately saw a woman standing by her car crying. I felt the Lord nudge me to approach her. You know that nudge, when your heart plummets down to your feet, your hands get all clammy a huge lump develops in your throat. Yea, I KNEW he wanted me to talk to her. But, I was in such a hurry to tell my husband about my good news, I ignored the nudge. I rationalized it in my mind… “She must have locked he keys in her car someone else will stop and help her".
I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Driving home after I had spoken to my husband, I experienced such sadness, I began to cry so much I had to pull over. “What is going on, I just received a clean bill of health I should be rejoicing”! Sitting in my car on main street tears streaming down my face the Lord revealed this to me.
“The woman you saw coming out of the clinic had just been to her gynecologist, she is in her last trimester of pregnancy. She has no family and her husband in in the Air Force and is in Iraq. The child she is carrying is so special to me but she doesn’t see that yet. She is only able to see what the doctors are telling her. He son has Cerebral Palsy, he will need constant around the clock care. She believes she is all alone in this. You were assigned to give her hope, re-assuring her of my love for the both of them.” “She would have had a new friend and a support system in you.”
I failed miserably! “OH, Lord please forgive my selfishness, my unwillingness to interrupt my own life to help another that may need you”.
Thankfully, Our God forgives and I have been given more opportunities to share his love.
A NYC Taxi driver wrote:
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be my last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked.. 'Just a minute', answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 90's stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940's movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard
box filled with photos and glassware.
'Would you carry my bag out to the car?' she said. I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness. 'It's nothing', I told her.. 'I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother to be treated.'
'Oh, you're such a good boy, she said. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, 'Could you drive
through downtown?'
'It's not the shortest way,' I answered quickly..
'Oh, I don't mind,' she said. 'I'm in no hurry. I'm on my way to a hospice.
I looked in the rear-view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. 'I don't have any family left,' she continued in a soft voice..'The doctor says I don't have very long.' I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
'What route would you like me to take?' I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl.
Sometimes she'd ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, 'I'm tired.Let's go now'.
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico.
Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
'How much do I owe you?' She asked, reaching into her purse.
'Nothing,' I said
'You have to make a living,' she answered.
'There are other passengers,' I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug.She held onto me tightly.
'You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,' she said. 'Thank you.'
I squeezed her hand, and then walked into the dim morning light.. Behind me, a door shut.It was the sound of the closing of a life..
I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day,I could hardly talk.What if that woman had gotten an angry driver,or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don't think that I have done anything more important in my life.
We're conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments.
But great moments often catch us unaware-beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
