Unexpected . . . but it shouldn't have been.

“Are you doing homework?” he asked, sitting down beside me on the park bench. “I'm Ben,” he continued, giving me his hand. I shook it, and a few minutes later I was hearing his life story.

Have you ever had a complete stranger walk up to you and start talking to you like you've known each other for years? Well, I don't know how you react in these situations, but it caught me off guard. However, that was okay because this guy was ready to talk without much prompting. He told me how he was quitting college, the drug deal his friend was messed up in, and how he'd had “an epiphany” that week and was flying high since he deiced to quit school and start a business. He talked a lot about the future and how he is going to be a big man in business someday and impact the world for good. I wasn't saying much (I didn't have much of a chance), but he seemed to think our meeting was, in his words, “meant to be” and he mentioned this several times.

Was it? Ordinarily I wouldn't feel like it. Aside from finding out he was raised Catholic, believed vaguely in God, and wasn't interested in coming to Bible study, I really didn't feel that our little chance “meeting” accomplished much. All the same, I don't believe things just happen without some sort of purpose, and God was made it pretty clear this time that he was responsible.

As a commuter at Millersville, it's hard to get to know people. I only go to school or Tuesday's and Thursdays, and between five classes, these are two very full days for me. However, as a Christian I don't feel right just coming and going from a campus where there is so little hope when I have been given so much. Not being the sort of conversationalist who can just walk up to stranger five minutes before class and start talking about the meaning of life, I started doing the only thing I could think of: Praying that God would give me opportunities. Elementary, I know, but it's surprising how often I fail to specifically ask for this. If we really believe that witnessing is more about God working than us, why don't we ask him to help more often?

Two weeks later, a complete stranger walks up while I'm sitting in the park typing a paper and wants to talk about life. Even though I didn't feel that it accomplished much to help him, God used it to get His message through to me loud and clear: “See what I can do when you ask.”