Pierre

Sometimes, opportunities present themselves and you say to yourself, "This has to be a God thing." And most of the time, you are absolutely correct in that assumption.

Today was one of those times.

After church, I was getting ready to leave. And as I'm walking towards the door, I heard this woman, Kathryn, yell towards me.

"Yo, brother, you in a hurry?" she asks.

"Not really," I tell her.

"Sit here. Watch him and make sure he doesn't drink anymore coffee," she says pointing to a man I know as Pierre. "I have to make a phone call."

So I sit down and truth be told, I'm very nervous and uncomfortable. Pierre is someone I know from church. He's quiet and there is a sense that he might not be there completely, if you know what I mean. I watch him with his eyes closed during the service, and I wonder what he's thinking. I have also been killing myself for not talking to him in the previous weeks. There has always been that urge, but I just don't know how to approach he and Kathryn, who are always together.

Kathryn is loud and tends to talk in a voice that's WAY above a whisper and Pierre is always her silent accomplice, sitting where she sits, standing where she stands. And I've watched them and wondered about who they are, but truth be told, I never did anything about it.

And then this "God thing" happened.

But it wasn't easy. I'm now sitting with Pierre, waiting nervously for Kathryn to return because I don't know what to say. So I'm shuffling in my chair, watching the room from which Kathryn is using the phone. My face is getting red and I'm not sure what to do. I want to bail and later, if confronted by Kathryn for leaving my post, make up some excuse about not understanding why she wanted me to sit with Pierre in the first place. I'm a loser like that sometimes. I'm working on it.

So as I sit there, uncomfortable, I hear this tiny voice coming from somewhere. And I turn, and it's Pierre, this beautiful, intricate man. And he's leaning towards me, and in a voice hovering somewhere between a whisper and a hush, he says to me, "She should have been a cop."

And with that, the ice is broken!!!! I looked at him for a second, and then immediately as if God himself was orchestrating everything (which of course, He was) Pierre and I embark on this incredibly intimate, 10-minute conversation. He tells me that Kathryn had me watch him because he's diabetic and needs to watch his sugar. He tells me about their marriage (7 years), about their walks to church (not too far) and about why his beautiful wife should have been a police officer, since she's so good at keeping him under control.

In those ten minutes, Jesus broke down all these walls, plastered with fear and uncertainty, that I had built up about this man; this quiet man who is not so slow at all, just misunderstood. In those ten minutes, I learned so much about this human being and I wanted to know more.

When Kathryn came back and it was time for me to go, I simply put my hand on Pierre's shoulder and leaned close to his ear.

"I'll see you soon Pierre. It was great to talk to you. Take care of yourself." I told him.

"You too." he replied simply.


God Things. They tend to happen when you least expect them to.