Divine Appointments

I had an appointment this afternoon.  Well, actually, I had two.  One I was fully aware of and one came as a bit of a surprise.

The appointment I knew about was to have my hair done - have to have a fresh coat of color and a new cut for the conference (JUST 6 DAYS LEFT!)  The appointment was set for shortly after work, so I had to run and get a quick bite to eat in between.  Ordinarily, I would probably have run through the drive-thru and eaten in the van - something I do far too often when time is short.

For whatever reason (leading of the Lord, perhaps?) I decided to go to Five Guys - yes, still a greasy burger and fries, but that's not the point!  As I sat down, I noticed a young black man at the table in front of me wearing a Five Guys uniform with a Bible and a spiral notebook opened before him on the table.  He noticed that I prayed over my food before eating and struck up a conversation about the Lord and how He had worked in both of our lives.  It turns out that he is a student at Wake Tech who hopes at some point to go to Seminary and become a missionary.  When I finished, we agreed to keep each other in prayer. 

I never cease to be amazed at how precious it is to meet a brother or sister in Christ - though we are strangers, we share an almost immediate bond.  Our relationship with the Father makes us truly family no matter how different our backgrounds may be.

As I headed to my hair appointment, I was struck by how God had used a stranger to encourage me (and hopefully, for me to encourage him as well) and how often I may be missing such opportunities by zipping through the drive-thru and eating alone in my car.  Yet another good reason to abandon the drive-thru...just to make sure I don't miss any divine appointments.