Freeway Witness

It was about 12 years ago or so when my faith journey took a turn that left a profound impact on me. I was living in Olathe but had been in the KC area for only a couple years and was six months into a new job. One day as I was driving home from a job site my car decided to stall at a very precarious spot on the freeway, near downtown, and during rush hour. I managed to get over onto the narrow shoulder but with all the cars whizzing by so closely I was a little nervous. As I attempted to diagnose what was wrong with my car I noticed a truck slowing down and then pulling over in front of me. I was amazed that someone was even able to spot me in time to do this. A man who appeared to be in his mid 30’s got out and asked me what he could do to help. Well, my car appeared to be a lost cause and would have to be towed so the man offered to give me a ride home since he also happened to live in Olathe.

During the ride home we engaged in friendly small talk but soon our discussion turned towards Church and religion. I explained to him that Church had always been a big part of my childhood and I once had a good relationship with God. He asked me if I belonged to a local Church. I told him no, but that I had recently been thinking about looking for one. At that point in my life I was beginning to feel very distant from God. I had gotten caught up in all the “social activities” that college life hits you with at all angles. I was only going to Church when I went back home to see family. I would pray occasionally but wasn’t reading scripture and otherwise ignored God. I had been considering looking for a local Church to reconnect with my faith but at that point my thoughts were merely good intentions. So he then invited me to the Church that he and his family attended in Olathe and I told him I thought I might give it a try. But it was what he told me next that caught me off guard. He said that before he saw my car he had felt God telling him to slow down so that he could stop and help someone. He went on to say that just a couple of weeks earlier he had felt God telling him that very same thing at that very same section of freeway but that he had ignored the urges and just kept driving. Sure enough, there was a stranded motorist but by the time he saw them it was too late for him to stop. This time, though, he decided to listen.

How often do we experience those same urges or voices in our head telling us to call or send a card to someone who we know could use some encouragement? Or to give money to a homeless person we drive by every day to work? As it happens, though, we either get scared and talk ourselves out of it or just get too busy and simply forget. I'm thankful, though that this stranger listened to God and responded by not only lending a helping hand but also by sharing the love of God and inviting me to his Church.

I went on and did end up going to his Church that very next Sunday and for several more Sundays thereafter. That experience was a turning point in my faith journey which did lead me to getting reconnected with God. I’ll never forget the testimony he shared with me and I sometimes find myself reflecting back on it. I wish that I would let my guard down more often, listen to God speaking to me, and witness to others about my relationship with God and the saving grace given to us through Jesus Christ. You never know where people are in their lives and in their relationship with God. They could be weighed down by life’s struggles and needing the hope, faith, and love that only God can provide. Or they could be as I was, just a lost lamb looking for his shepherd.