God Speaks in Mysterious Ways

I listened to the interview and All Saints sermon of an Episcopal priest on Day One, a podcast site that has interviews and sermons by mainline Protestant preachers. I was particularly impressed by her suggestion that when eating out that you tell the waitperson you are going to bless your meal and ask what Blessing they would like you to offer them. She said the stories you hear are incredible and inspiring. I thought to myself, perhaps that is something I can do, if I'm not too shy. It is something I would like to do. The following morning, I took the train to work, and, as usual, I was doing Morning Prayer with my Book of Common Prayer in hand. A gentleman came and sat next to me, and looking at me, said, "Ah the daily bread ... would you like to share the daily bread?" I wasn't certain what he wanted, and then he said, "The Living bread". I understood what he meant by the bread, but I still wasn't sure what he wanted. Did he want me to read from the scriptures? So I just said, "Ahh, yes," and went back to my praying. He pulled out a book of his own and read. When I finished my prayers, I still had time on the train, so I pulled out another book I had just started--Escape Routes by Johann Christoph Arnold. A friend had sent me (and others) the book, and it seemed relevant to my condition right now, so I have been reading it. As I was sitting there in silence, I read the following: "...life's deepest fulfillment comes from valuing every human encounter, and showing love to everyone we meet, especially if they are lonely, despairing, or beaten down. What excuse can there be for not conquering our shyness in loving? ... As the novelist Alice Walker writes, 'Our last five minutes on earth are running out. We can spend those moments in meanness ... or we can spend them consciously embracing every glowing soul who wanders within our reach.'" Now in general I don't think God is that interested in speaking to me, but I thought I can't ignore this! I waited until the train to come to our stop. We both began to gather our things and I reached out my hand to him. He took it, and I said, "Have a good day. May God bless you and keep you. I'm sorry, but I'm a shy person." He looked at me and said, "That's okay," and he handed me a card for an evangelical gathering. I didn't go, but I'm glad I reached out. I owe that in part to the priest's words. I sent this story to the priest I heard on Day One, and she responded, “Thank you so very much for sharing your blessing story with me. I treasure it but what I especially love is the realizations that you had that 1. God is very interested in speaking to you and that 2. you have a story to tell, just as we all have a story to share. I will be sharing your story with my congregation and your quotes from Walker and Arnold. The circle keeps expanding.” Maybe I'll be able to pray for that waitperson after all.