The Man on the Bus

A few months ago my best friend Pam asked me if I still heard from God and if God was speaking to me. I answered her about the ways God has been speaking to me lately, not too many audibles but I was noticing His voice in different ways. I wondered if she had been struggling with hearing God’s voice and that is why she asked me the question.

Pam told me a story recently that touched my heart again about the secrets of God. Pam was taking a bus ride to Denver to visit her aging mother. She was at the bus station in Wyoming waiting for her bus. She began to look around at the people who would be her fellow travelers. They were looking a little rough around the edges, long hair, unkept, unwashed, missing teeth- things that may cause us to make judgements about people. She didn’t want to spend 10 hours on the bus with these people. She didn’t feel safe. What if they harassed her or just annoyed her. What if her life was in danger.

The most dangerous looking person making the trip was a giant of a man with no front teeth. The worse part was that he seemed to be staring at Pam. She was very nervous at the eye contact he was giving her. She was ready to tell Tom, her husband, that she was not getting on this bus.

She had an idea as only Pam can. In the bus terminal she picked out a sweet looking grandmother type and tried to make friends with her so the two of them could sit together and be safe from the others. She approached her and smiled at her suggesting that they could sit next to each other on the bus. When it was time to load the bus Pam took her seat near the bus driver and put her things on the seat next to her to save it for her new friend. She decided to sit near the bus driver because that would be safe. He would protect her although she didn’t know him any better than the rest of the lot but at least he had a job. The grandmother got on the bus and walked right past Pam’s saved seat never even stopping to look at her. She was now alone with all the strangers on the bus. And who should sit across the aisle from her, yes, the giant with no teeth.

Pam made a barrier with her carry on items. She placed her Jesus book bag between her and the man. She arranged her purse and lunch as walls of defense. She opened a book and lowered her head to read sealing the “Do not disturb, beware of dog” attitude.

She noticed that the big man kept staring at her and smiling at her. What could he possibly want from her? He finally mentioned something about one of the books he noticed in her giant book bag. He said he had read it and it was a good book. She began to relax the flexed muscles of her body. The man said to her the strangest thing, he said he could tell that she was a disciple of Jesus because “you study God’s word.” The man then began talking about Jesus. She listened. He talked. He expounded on the scriptures from the Old Testament to the New Testament on the purpose and plan of God for mankind. Her heart burned within her as he shared knowingly for hours on the road to Denver of God’s word. She said it felt like Jesus on the road to Emmaus explaining the word of God to his disciples. Every once in a while she would ask a question and the man would answer with knowledge and compassion.

The man got up and began to give out his “Do you know Jesus?” cards. She marveled at how easy he moved from person to person and everyone accepted a card from him. Before this the strangers on the bus seemed to be in their own little world. Now Pam looked around the bus and each one looked so different to her. They had softened, the severity and pressure was gone. What had happened? What had changed and softened them? She said to me as she relayed this story that she realized that they were people just like her struggling on their journey through life with the equipment they had been given for the task. At the first stop she noticed that people had begun smiling at each other. She felt like this man’s presence had somehow brought light and hope and love to the bus. The rest of the trip people conversed, laughed, shared food with each other. When the bus arrived in Denver everyone was hugging each other and sad to say good-bye. Pam said to me she felt a closeness to God, like she had been with the Lord and had heard him speak to her. She wondered now if the giant was really an Angel of the Lord.

He is always speaking to us isn’t he? He speaks in varied ways to His unique children. Some of us need the audible and He speaks. Some need his touch and He touches. Some of us need to see His kindness in the common areas of life and He displays Himself through a giant with no teeth. We believe because He is real and He transcends our fear, control and confusion to display His beauty. We believe because we experience Him. We believe because our spirits are touched by the Spirit of God. We believe because His truth speaks to our spirit and our hearts confirm the reality and rejoice in His truth. We believe because He is alive.

Copyright by Livie Sanchez 2007