Ryan and his friends poured out of the stadium alongside the other 40,000 people. It had been a great game and the win was secured in the last minute of the game! He and his friends were going out to celebrate the victory! The excitement could be heard and felt along the city streets. Yes, this team was definitely making a comeback! Ryan and his friends walked quickly toward their favorite brewery in order to beat the crowds. As they turned the last corner Ryan almost ran smack into a shabbily dressed man holding up a sign.
"Sorry man I didn't see you." apologized Ryan.
"No problem," replied the man. "Hey can you spare me some change?"
Ryan felt uncomfortable as he tried to think of an excuse. "Ummm...." he reached into his pocket and found the change from his concession stand hot dog. "Here, that's all the change I have."
"Thank you. God Bless you." said the man.
Ryan took a couple of quick steps to catch up with his friends who had kept on walking. Within minutes they successfully entered the brewery and managed to find a table. The place was packed with excitement and people within minutes talking nonstop about the game. Everyone was having a great time as the hours rolled by and strangers became friends. When dusk began to approach, Ryan and his friends decided to head home. The parking garage was an easy five block walk for the guys as they made plans to buy tickets for the next game. The friends dispersed once they got to the parking garage, each looking for their own car.
Ryan easily bounded up the three flights of stairs to find his car. As he reached the last step he noticed a man holding an open can. "Oh great, not another one," thought Ryan to himself .
The man looked at Ryan and said, "Hey can you spare-"
"Sorry man, I'm all out of money."
"I wasn't going to ask for money. I wanted to know if you could spare a minute?" the man questioned.
Annoyed, Ryan asked, "For what?"
"Could you take a minute and praise God on your way home?"
"Are you serious? Why would you even care? You don't even know me. How do you know I even believe in God."
"You're right, I don't know you, but I know God. I look around and I feel like people are forgetting about Him. Could you do me a favor and just take one minute to thank or praise Him. I can't stand to see Him ignored. Please, just think about it."
Ryan just looked at the man wondering if he was sincere or just out of his mind. "Ok, sure, whatever." said Ryan as he quickly began walking towards his car.
"Thank you. You're doing the right thing!" exclaimed the man as Ryan walked away.
Ryan got into his car and swiftly pulled out. "What a weirdo." thought Ryan to himself. "I wonder how many people he asked to do that today?" For some reason Ryan couldn't get the image of this guy's face or his words out of his head as he drove. "Well I have to give the guy credit. That has to take guts to go up to random people and ask them to pray....He wasn't all preachy about it either....and he genuinely seemed happy when I said I would...the whole thing was so weird." As Ryan continue driving he thought about his day and then said, "Hey thank you, God, today was a great day! The team won and I had a great day with my friends. I even met some new people and next week we're going to ......." Ryan found that once he started talking to God he actually had a lot to say. Ryan talked to God the whole way home and the last thing he said was, "And thank you God for sending a random stranger into my life and reminding me to spend time with you. It felt really good. Let's talk again tomorrow."
-Susan
