It is no secret that I use my morning ride on the subway as a time of prayer, closing my eyes, feeling the rumble of the train, focusing on a verse or two of a psalm and then checking in with God.
But I wouldn’t say that I’m entirely alone. I see others around me, reading a page of Scripture or studying devotionals on their cell phones. Sometimes their prayers are said out loud.
The other night I was coming home from a meeting and sat next to a young woman. I took out a book to read and realized that she was crying, sniffling, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. Should I ignore her? I wondered. Ask her if I could help? I fumbled around in my book bag, wondering if I had a tissue I could offer her. Nope, nothing but an old napkin.
All at once I heard the older woman on her other side ask, “What is it, honey?” Maybe they are friends. If that were the case I’d be off the hook. Someone else could do the comforting.
“I got laid off,” the young woman said and burst out with more tears.
“There, there,” the older woman said, and it was immediately apparent that she was a stranger to this girl. “You’ll be OK. Take it from me. Whenever God closes a door he opens a window.”
“But… but… I need this job. It was my second job. I’ve been saving to get my own apartment. I won’t be able to move if I don’t have enough money.”
You speak to her too, Rick. “It’s a tough job market,” I said, then decided that tack wasn’t really the way to go. I looked at the young woman. She looked capable, well dressed, polite, but in tears. “I’ll bet they really liked you,” I offered. “They just might have had to make cutbacks.”
“It was only a temporary job,” she said. “But I hoped it would go on forever…”
“There, there,” the older woman said, putting an arm around her shoulder, hugging her. “I’m going to pray right here and now that you find something else and it will be even better than the job you lost. Yes indeed, it will be better. God will open that new window.”
“Yes,” I said, “it’ll turn out OK.” This was our prayer, the two older folks doing our best to comfort the young woman.
The train pulled into the station. Both of us had to get off. “Bless you,” the older woman said. “Bless you,” I said too.
“Thank you.” The girl smiled through her tears.
“God always opens a door,” the older woman reminded me as we stepped through the subway door. “Yes, he always does.”
Yes, and he also sends unexpected comforters on subway trains, I thought. “Thank you for helping her,” I said to the older woman. At talks I’ve recently given about my book 10 Prayers You Can’t Live Without, I often say that my biggest prayer is to be present to the opportunities God gives me. This time I had a companion to help.
