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Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Flying with a little blessing

Didier Weemaels

I road the bus to and from Montgomery, AL. The first time I had been on a bus in about 20 years. Not much has changed. Well, now the buses have wi-fi and electrical outlets so you can charge your stuff. That wasn't there 20 years ago.

The ride down was fine. On the ride back our driver got lost and I missed my connection out of Atlanta. I hate the Atlanta bus station. The Atlanta airport is the busiest one in the world and the bus station, well it sucked. And I sat there for about 5 hours. Yes, I could have ventured out, rented a car, or do something else, but I did not.

What I did was talk to the people around me. One woman was waiting on her bus to Tampa. She had walked from Nashville. That's right, she walked from Nashville with her boyfriend because there are jobs in Florida. She had to stop walking because her leg hurt and was very swollen. Her boyfriend kept walking while she slept in parking lots around Atlanta seeking out help from local churches.

She had been in town since Thursday and I met her on Sunday. A church bought her a bus ticket to Tampa. I asked her what she would do once she got to Tampa. She said sit and try to get $6 to get the bus to St. Petersburg. That is where she and her boyfriend would find work. He had been promised work, she is hopeful for herself. Anyway, she continued to tell me her story I felt compelled to do something. So I opened my wallet and handed her $6. She cried. She thanked me over and over and over and over and over and over again. And then she cried again.

As I sat there I wondered how many prayers could be answered with $6. How many of my prayers could be answered with $6? None that I could think of. Many that I wish could be. then I realized that the amount of money was relative. Obtaining $6 to her was almost insurmountable. It wasn't for me. And that is the beauty of it. We can all be a blessing to someone. We just have to listen to what is being asked. And when we can help we should. it is just that simple. No judgments are needed. Just a simple act of kindness with no strings attached. Sometimes that is more than enough.