This bus stop blessings happened on a cold, rainy, April day. That morning when I got up to go to work, I was craving sushi. I had never wanted sushi that bad before, this craving was intense. I made my way to work, and spent the entire day thinking about how I was going to get me some sushi after work.

 

On the bus headed home, I decided to stop past a Chinese buffet which was located on the bus stop which is where I would have to transfer buses to get home. I got off the bus and headed toward the Chinese buffet, as I did, I passed two gentlemen having a conversation about how they were stuck. They weren’t talking to me but trying to figure out between themselves how they were going to get back to the city. We were in one of the counties.

 

As I passed them, the Lord spoke, “Bless them.” I heard Him, but I kept walking to get my sushi and debating with the Lord about interrupting their conversation. “I just can’t go over there and jump into their conversation all “willy-nilly, that’s rude,” I offered, and went into the restaurant.

 

On my way back from getting my sushi, I passed by them again and kept on going to the place where my next bus would pick up. I was standing in front of one of the stores in the little strip-mall when a young man walked over to me and proceeded to lay all his burdens on my shoulders. He complained about how terrible his day had been up to that point, and how he had spent his last few dollars to go see his son and didn’t have any money to get back home.

 

As the young man was talking, one of the two gentlemen walked past us, my eyes followed him as he made his way to the laundromat. I was still listening to the young man, when he began to walk past us again, to go meet back up with his friend. “Bless Him,” I heard the Lord say. That morning the Lord had told me that I would be giving out $20 that day. But I didn’t know who the recipient would be.

 

Just as he walked by, I shouted, “Excuse me, Sir, God told me to bless you with this,” as I handed him a $10 bill. He was an African American man about 40 years old and his friend seemed to be about the same age range, but he was Caucasian. Stopping, he turned to me, took the $10 bill and praised God, “My heavenly Father told you to bless me? Girl, you don’t know that you’ve just saved two people’s lives. We are stuck out here and didn’t know how we were gonna' make it back to the city. What’s your name?” he inquired, and I told him. “My name is Andre, may I give you a hug?” he asked.

 

“Sure,” I agreed as I braced myself for a pungent odor, hearing God tell me to give him another $10. “Here, God wanted me to give you $20, so here is the other $10," I offered.

 

Both of those gentlemen seemed to be homeless men. By the look of their clothing, they had not been bathing much, but he did have on a pink babies blanket which was wrapped around his neck, that he must have retrieved from the laundromat, because it wasn’t on him when he first made his way passed us, or when I first noticed him. As he leaned in to give me a hug, I noticed how good he smelled, like a fabric softener sheet. Afterward, he smiled and made his way to his friend and they got on the bus that had been sitting there when I first arrived. Just as they got on, it pulled off headed to the city.

 

“Oh, my God, I just witnessed a miracle!” the young man shouted, frantically flailing his arms and pacing the sidewalk. “Bless him, too,” the Lord added. So, I gave him my last $10 bill. Then his bus came, and he left. Shortly afterward, my bus came and I made my way home.

 

When I walked in the door, I couldn’t wait to get into some warm clothes and into my plate of sushi. As I sat at my table, I contemplated what it would taste like and my mouth just watered. Opening the container with bated breath, I looked down and noticed a long hair sitting just on the top of the sliced sushi roll. I was livid! And threw the entire container in the trashcan.

 

It was then that I realized why I had been craving sushi all day long. If I hadn’t gone passed the two homeless gentlemen on the way to the restaurant, I wouldn’t have heard their conversation and known that God wanted to bless them. And in turn, bless the young man, who just happened to witness God’s miracle.

 

Prayer:

Father, You always amaze us. Thank You for allowing us to participate in Your miracles. They are not just stories, but lives being impacted by Your grace and mercy. Help us, never to walk away from an opportunity to be a blessing, especially when You have blessed us so graciously. In the name of our Lord, Jesus Christ, amen.