I had a busy day ahead—drive 40 minutes to the airport to pick up my youngest sister and my brother-in-law, flying in from Kansas City, and give them a grand tour of the new town my husband and I had moved to in Florida. Before I did anything, though, I picked up my copy of Mysterious Ways. Every morning I sit at the breakfast table with the magazine and read a few stories. It helps me focus on what’s important in life, and gets me motivated to start my day. If only I could experience a “Mysterious Ways” of my own!
This morning’s story was “The Biker and The Hiker,” about a man named Ray who was walking across the United States to make penance for his past. A woman, Dottie, read about him and hoped to offer him a meal when he passed through her small town in Arkansas. She saw him when she was driving back from the grocery store… but was too flustered to offer him anything but “good luck.”
Three months later, she was at Mount Rushmore on a motorcycle trip with her husband and recognized a hiker—Ray! Given a second chance, this time she didn’t hesitate. Over dinner, Ray told her he had plenty of company in Arkansas, but traveling through the Dakotas had been a solitary journey. God had given Dottie the opportunity to help when the timing was just right.
Wow. I put down the magazine. God, I prayed, would you use me like that too?
I started my drive to the airport. At a traffic light, I saw an elderly lady in a pink jacket and matching baseball cap on a motorized scooter, slowly crossing the highway. I held my breath. Was she going to make it across before the light changed and cars began zooming by? Fortunately, she reached the other side just as the light turned green.
On the way back, I was chatting and completely flew by my exit. Apologizing to my sister and brother-in-law, I explained we’d have to take the long way home. That’s when something pink caught my eye.
The elderly lady. No longer driving the scooter… she was pushing it. No one else seemed to notice.
I pulled over. We quickly determined her scooter’s battery had died. I plugged her address into my GPS. She was more than two miles from home!
Her husband was waiting when we pulled up to the house. Shaking, on the verge of tears, he pulled out his wallet and offered to pay us for our help in getting his wife back safely.
No payment necessary, I told him. I'd been given just what I wanted.
