A New Friend, An Unlikely Beginning

My long time friend Tom Randall is biking 2500 miles from Astoria, Oregon to Minneapolis, Minnesota. Tom has several orphanages in the Philippines. He didn't start this as a fundraiser but if you know anything about Tom you know that remarkable things happen in his life all the time. As of today the total he will raise is $860,000.00. OK, that is flat out amazing. I flew up to South Dakota to ride with him the last 400 miles or so to encourage him. This afternoon after a 100 mile ride we were sitting with one of the other riders on the trip. He seemed pretty surly and called me a Pansie for joining the ride for only four days. I laughed and agreed with him but I can't say it was the best way to start a conversation. At one point Tom got up and I kept talking to Robert. I ended up finding out he was a recent widower. As we talked he opened up and tears rolled down his cheeks. He saw me at dinner later and came up right away just to say hi and see how I was doing after the ride. It just reminded me that everyone has a story and it is so important to take the time to listen. It might be difficult at first but the people in your lives that are the most prickly have the hardest stories to tell and most need to tell them to someone. Jesus was always that person. Jesus listened to my story and earlier today He listened to Robert whether he realized it or not. Tonight I will pray for my new friend and his pain and that some day he will find out it was Jesus who listened to him today and recorded his tears and longs for him to be healed.