LENNY INTERRUPTED MY DAY

I had a million things to do and was only halfway through my list when I decided to run in and get a quick bite to eat at McDonald's. Earlier that morning, while doing my Bible study, I made a post on my Twitter account, "Be prayerful and watchful-God will show you whose life He wants you to invest in. He has a purpose for you today. Go out & be a blessing."  I wanted to remind everyone to let God guide their day.

What I didn't expect was that God was reminding me before I began my day that He had a specific person in mind for me today...that person was Lenny.

He was an older man in his 80's, ordering, "Extra crispy fries please. I haven't been here in 20 years and that's how they used to make them," he happily told the girl at the counter. After a few more requests, "A couple of creams and some Splenda for my coffee and please make sure the fries are extra crispy." As the girl walked away he mumbled to himself, "What a nice girl."

Normally when I'm in a hurry I start to get a little impatient. However, something about this man's cheerful demeaner kept me patiently waiting my turn. The girl came to the other side of her register as Lenny stood at the counter waiting for his order. I ordered my usual cheeseburger, fries & apple pie, while Lenny turned to smile at me & tell me how good the fries were here 20 years ago, "extra crispy are the best!" I chatted with him while the young girl finished filling our orders. Lenny grabbed his tray and then turned to sit down, but stopped and said, "Young lady, would you like some company."

I was caught off guard. Did I want company? I had a million things to do, and planned on eating quickly, quietly sitting with my thoughts, before rushing off to my next stop. So, truthfully, did I want company? No. But did he want company? Yes. Was God interrupting my day for His Purpose? Yes. So I replied, "Sure." A smile lit up his face as he asked, "Where would you like to sit?" "Anywhere you'd like is fine," I replied. Another new one for me...I'm particular about where I sit.

I sat with Lenny for about two hours. He told me stories about the war, jobs he's had, how much he enjoyed being retired and playing golf. He reflected on his younger day's, "When I was in between jobs, I'd ask my dad for money & he'd always say, "No, get a job if you want money." But my mom always interjected saying, "Joey (that's my dad's name, he grinned) give him some money. And my dad always would. So I learned to always ask my mom." He let me know that he has melanoma cancer in several areas & told me to make sure my family always wears sunscreen and hats. I was able to talk to him about forgiving people who've hurt you & the freedom it brings, as he was still angry at his ex-wife.

I silently prayed for him as he talked to me. I asked the Lord to bless him, heal him and lead him to Christ. As the conversation turned to travel, I shared a little about the beauty of our recent trip to Hawaii. He'd never been & didn't particularly have a desire to go. I showed him the picture I took on my phone, the image of Christ in the waterfall. He didn't say too much about it, just looked and said it was beautiful. He wanted to see another picture of where the falls began. Later as we began to say our goodbyes & exchanged our full names, he told me his name was Leonard Colombus. I told him my name & that it was an Italian last name. He said, "Me too," then smiled and said, not really, I'm Jewish."

I wondered if that was why I was prompted to share the image of Christ with him. I will probably never know. But what I do know is that God put Lenny in my path today. God asked me to forego my plans and do His will. His Good and Perfect Will. Is there a "Lenny" God wants you to talk with today? Is there someone you can share Christ's Unconditional Love with?
 
 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." Lamentations 3:40

"But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." John 3:21

"But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him." Jeremiah 17:7