The other day, we were buying groceries for our weekend meals. We got dropped off at the grocery store and went to work quickly, as our driver was supposed to be back in about 45 minutes. I was on cart-steering duty, so I waited in line to check out while my teammates grabbed a few personal items.
A few aisles over, I saw an elderly man that put a big smile on my face. He was walking with a short cane dressed in worn out khaki slacks and a jacket. He was also wearing Yeezy’s on his feet and an animal skin fur hat that was hand repaired and bare in a few spots, it had certainly seen a lot of use. I could tell this man was a true original, and I loved him instantly.
My teammates returned, and we checked out. We sat outside waiting for our driver, and I told my teammates about the man and his dope outfit and soulful face. A few minutes later, we noticed that our driver was late, and I saw the man through the store windows. I pointed him out in admiration, and joked with my teammates that the man was my hero.
Not too much later, the man in the store sat down right next to me on the bench. I had a big stupid grin on my face. My teammates and I just smiled at each other because we knew God was working.
It’s quite strange and hard to explain, but God and me have been pretty stinking close lately. He is aligning the desires of my heart with His, and then He is intentionally obvious about how I should be acting on those desires. He helps out quite a bit in stringing things together, like bringing this dopely dressed old man out of the Shop Rite and onto the bench next to me. I’ve given the Lord my “yes” to whatever He wants me to do, so He just keeps asking me to do things.
I took a few minutes of patience to thank the Lord for the way He works, and asked Him what He wanted to do. He said “Heal.”
So I greeted the man in the Sesotho language, and asked for his name. He spoke just a little English and introduced himself as Mandema from Maseru. He asked where we were from, and I told him I was Isaiah from America.
I asked Mandema if he had pain in his knees. He understand and told me that he did have pain. I told him I would like to pray for him, and he responded with a question.
“You can help me?”
“Yes.”
I laid my hand on Mandema’s knee and prayed for healing. In his body, heart, and soul. I prayed for his body to heal and for his spirit to understand the love of Christ through this healing. As I prayed for these things in the name of Jesus, there was a jolt and crackle in his knees and a little tremble in his body, and Mandema was healed. He just smiled and said thanks.
Our driver was quite late now, and we stayed on the bench. Mandema dozed off and on with a case of the grandpa snoozes. I just smiled and continued to pray for him silently. At the point when our driver was about an hour late, we decided to move spots and try to see if he was there somewhere.
We tried to contact people and find out, but we had no luck. After about 15 more minutes at the other end of the parking lot, we were trying to decide if we should just get a taxi instead of wait any longer. We gave it a few minutes as we thought it over, and as we waited, Mandema walked by. He walked a different walk, no leaning on his cane, and he smiled with a thanks and a wave.
We decided to get a taxi and head home. It turns out, our driver’s car had broken down and he wasn’t able to come. Again I laughed and thanked God for the funny way He works. A broken down car lead to waiting, and the Lord is certainly in the waiting. And in the waiting, He healed Mandema.
