DAY TWO / #fortydayfloodoflove
Dating on the Race
This photo was taken during a layover in Ft Lauderdale just three days after the shooting, which in and of itself was a miracle that I wrote about in a separate blog (read it here).
Joseph is someone whom I haven’t talked about before. He was our taxi driver in Florida and this photo was taken in his car.
He was a Haitian refugee working hard to provide for his family, and I could tell that he was a selfless man. I asked if he had eaten anything yet (it was around 3 pm). He hadn’t. I invited him to eat lunch with us, ticket on me, and he politely declined.
But Joseph was outnumbered 7:1 & women can ask a lot of questions. The poor guy never really had a chance. So a few minutes later, after some persistence, he agreed.
I also think it’s safe to say that Haitians don’t eat burgers often, and Joseph didn’t take a “how to order fast food 101” English class when he arrived in America.
So naturally, we used charades to find out what he wanted.
And I think we got it right because he lit up like a Christmas tree when I handed the food to him. During lunch he told us more about his children and wife. They were clearly the apple of his eye & he radiated with gratitude for having the opportunity to give them a better life in America.
On our way back to the airport we noticed his car was having a little bit of trouble so we offered to pray. We prayed that his car would continue to run so he could provide for his family, and that he would know how loved he is by God.
After the prayer Joseph told us it was his birthday all along.
ONLY GOD.
He even asked for a hug from each of us once we got out of the car because God made him feel so special that day through our time together.
The odds were stacked against us.
We walked away from his taxi at first because we had too many people.
We didn’t speak the same language (he had broken english).
And he had to re arrange his schedule to eat lunch with us.
but God is capable… if we are only willing.
Dating on the race can look a lot like finding divine appointments. Sometimes God romances us, but everyday He wants to use us as a vessel of His love for others.
The best part about this story is that we hadn’t left American soil yet. It doesn’t take privilege to share the Gospel, but it does takes intentionality. Who can you be intentional with today?
