A Key West Encounter
Two months ago, when I was on family vacation, I suffered from a second degree burn on my shoulders. Any second in the sunlight was agony and being indoors wasn’t much of an improvement either if I had to move an inch. Foul, pus-filled blisters dotted my raw and red skin. It made me pretty darn irritable.
This went on for several days. On the day before we departed, I stopped at a grocery store and wandered in the refreshing air-conditioning for a good twenty minutes. While I was browsing, someone called out (apparently to me) something along the lines of “hey, what’s up handsome.” Naturally, I didn’t think they were talking to me. And when I saw that it was a man who said those words, I really hoped they weren’t talking to me. This was in Key West, after all.
The man, an older black fellow with who I presume was his wife, told me that I should always respond when someone says the words that he did. I got the joke, but that didn’t make it less weird. Then he asked me how I was feeling. Being honest about my burns, I said that I wasn’t doing too good.
And he decided to clasp one of my injured shoulders. A writer couldn’t have crafted a better continuing narrative. It didn’t feel that bad, which was weird in itself. Had a short conversation with him and he took off. I shrugged away the strange encounter and continued browsing.
Later, as I was checking out, the man and his wife came up behind me in line. They recognized me from earlier and started talking. I wasn’t expecting to hear what he said next. He told me that even in my pain, I should remember those who have it worse. He said that if I ever needed a reminder of how much more difficult my pain could be, I should visit a trauma ward. He told me that I should always be grateful to God for the time I have, because I wouldn’t know when it might end.
As he was saying these things, his hand was on my shoulder again. And again, I felt no pain, not until they were gone. After that discussion, when I was done with the awkward encounter and said the word “amen” alongside them, I thanked them and left.
The next day, I started feeling a lot better and my blisters began to burst. But I think I realized even as I left the grocery store the significance of what I had experienced.
That man and his wife were no chance encounter. They were either:
A prayerful couple moved by the Holy Spirit to comfort me and remind me of my fortunate life.
Angels with a specific message for me to hear.
Of course, the secular world might chalk this up to chance or coincidence. But I believe in God, the living Lord, not in the nonexistent pagan deity of luck. There is nothing that happens that He doesn’t design or allow.
I’ve been meaning to share this experience with my readers and other members of my family for some time. It’s difficult to put an event like this into words and ensure that it sounds honest and genuine. I made sure not to embellish any detail. If I’ve captured it with a reasonable amount of accuracy, I’m thankful to Him.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young…For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if He causes suffering, He will show compassion according to His abundant, faithful love. For He does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind.” (Lamentations 3:25-27 & 31-33)
While the context of these verses is the subject of Israel’s demise, the hopeful message is one that resonates to all Christians and in particular those experiencing any kind of pain, great or small. The Lord doesn’t promise us a perfect life, but He guarantees His love will prevail.
Whatever else you take away from this blog post, know that He is there to listen, love, provide, and correct His children whether they realize it at the time or not. Praise and glory be to Him.
