Leaving work the other day, I felt a nudge to veer from my usual routine and take a different route home. Passing by a parking lot, I again felt a nudge and was given direction to pull into the lot and to help a young lady clean off her car. It was biting cold, only 3 degrees out, and it had snowed a few inches. I quickly pulled up behind her just in time to see her take a swipe at her car with her mitten.  “Here I am” I announced, “I came to help you clean off your car.” “Oh thank you!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.” Talking excitedly and very fast, she elaborated that she had just bought the car a week ago and her boyfriend, who was expected to put a scraper in her car that day, had failed to do it. She went on to explain that she usually works at 3am and parks in the parking structure but, this day, had picked up an afternoon shift and she couldn’t get a parking spot inside. “I didn’t know what I was going to do.” she exclaimed.

I didn’t know she needed help. I was just being obedient to His direction. Who would think that anyone driving a car in Michigan, would be without a scraper in January?

God knew. He asked me to take a different route.

Tonight, a couple of days later, the temperature has climbed to 16 degrees, but it’s still oh so cold. As I was walking out to my parking lot (I couldn’t get in the structure either), a good guy, driving a grounds keeping cart, offered me a ride to my car.

God knew I was cold and He sent him along my path.

“–‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Mk. 12:29b-31