A Blessing Just Walked in to America's Best Coffee

I am better today than I was yesterday.
I am going to try to put into words how deeply God blessed me today though a man named Dr. Jones. I will try, but I know I will fall short. Those who are familiar with my weekly work routine know that I pretty much office out of America's Best Coffee. Besides it being a Christian-owned and operated organization, I think their place is snazzy and their drinks are fantastic. This morning I was reading through the Psalms and listening to my country playlist on my iPod (yeah, it's pretty wierd) and I was interrupted by a guy named "Dr. Jones." I was a little startled, and immediately thought he was going to ask me about what I was reading. Instead he asked me about my computer. He was dressed very nice and I immediately noticed his dark skin and his African accent- I later found out he was from Kenya. I absolutely love to listen to the African dialect.

Over coffee and a bagel, our conversation morphed from talking about my computer to talking about being Christians. We talked about our churches. He said, like only he can, "I love the church. All of them!" I could tell that the Spirit lived in Dr. Jones- he had such a peace about him. I hope people think or say the same about me when we part ways. I found out that Dr. Jones attends a large church in the area. Our interaction was a blessing in every sense of the word. I had a hard time understanding some of the things he was saying, but it didn't matter. He told me, "You are in the greatest business in the world. You are helping people and loving the Lord." I asked him how long he had been a Christian. He said with a smile, "I have been a Chritian since I was born, but 2 years ago I returned to the Lord to love Him." His answer didn't really fit into the box that I wanted it to fit in. Years ago I would have dug deeper because of my concern that he "didn't answer correctly." I wanted him to talk about how he had "accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior." But I could tell that he knew Jesus. I think with some people it's just really obvious when they have spent time with Jesus. "I have been a Christian since I was born, but 2 years ago I returned to the Lord to love Him." Yeah, I could tell he had spent the last 2 years walking with Jesus. It was like he had been walking on the old dirt road to Emmaus with a man named "Jesus" for the past 2 years.

For some reason I became burdened for him as our conversation progressed. Though it seemed somewhat veiled, it appeared that life had begun to beat him down in a way. He had just come from a meeting with one of his kids' teachers. He was about to head off to work (He is a pharmacist at a nearby hospital). I felt like I should pray for him before he left. As he was getting up to leave, I asked if I could pray for him. Now, I am not one who does that very often- pray for people that I just met in public places. But something inside me told me that praying for this man would be one of my greatest priveledges. That may sound cheezy, but as we talked I honestly could not wait to pray for him. He said, "I would like that very much." I want to honor him by not saying too much here, but he asked that I pray for him and some situations at home. I could tell that he loved the Lord, but he was still struggling with life. He had made some mistakes in the past and now he was trying to fight through shame to be a godly man for his family now. I prayed for him and his family. I believe that I will for a long time.

It sounds strange to describe my fellowship with Dr. Jones like this but I have to say that our time was "sweet." As he left I was thankful for our time and I longed for more times like that. The reason for this, I believe, is because God has set him apart to be a blessing. I thought about Genesis 12, where God tells Abraham that he was going to use him to bless the nations. God's heart was revealed in Genesis 12- He wants to use His people to bless the world. I have no doubt in my mind that God is using Dr. Jones to bless others. That's why I can say that a Blessing walked into America's Best Coffee this morning.

A few things that I thought about after he left:
1. I am glad that I was not over-protective of my time in the Psalms. I was interrupted- and God was in the interruption this morning.
2. It only takes One thing in common to make you friends on a deeply profound level. I have friends around the globe whom I am a part of. Oh how I love the Church! As Dr. Jones walked out of the coffee shop I wanted to pray for those in other countries who were my friends because of Jesus. I was so thankful.
3. We never really talked about Jesus. I am not saying that this is a good thing. I now realize that I want to get to the point where my conversations about being a Christian is more about how great Jesus is and how much I treasure him. I don't believe God is disappointed with me even though we never mentioned the name Jesus. I believe He is teaching me that I still have a ways to go, though. Even so, God blessed our interaction. We danced around Jesus, but we never took his hand. Isn't it odd how easy it is to talk about the Church and about how long we have been Christians, but we kind of dance around mentioning the name "Jesus Christ?" But at the same time, it can be completely evident that Christ is alive in us and the Spirit is working in the midst of the conversation.
4. I am better today than I was yesterday because of this Blessing that God sent my way. I want to be a blessing for all that I come into contact with.

And I hope you do too. Because that is what God created you to be- a living, breathing, walking . . . blessing.