I’m Going to Downey, Part I
Part 1 of 2
AN UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTER
On a Friday evening we headed out as usual to lead out in our small group Bible study about an hour away, fighting rush hour traffic. This particular Friday we left a little earlier than usual. About a mile or so from our home on a less populated stretch of the road, we passed by a young African-American man who was lugging a long, heavy black case uphill along the side of the road. There was no sidewalk on that stretch of the road so he was walking in the bike lane. I wondered out loud where he could be headed with such a heavy load. For some reason, I blurted out, “Maybe we should give him a ride.” We looked at each other, then the clock, thinking the same thoughts: “Is it safe? Do we even have time to detour from our destination?” Despite our concerns, we somehow felt compelled to turn around to do something we would never do: Offer a ride to a complete stranger with a large black case.
DETOUR TO DOWNEY
By the time we made the two U-turns and pulled up along side of him, the young man had reached the top of the hill and was resting by the roadside. I rolled down my window and asked, "Where are you headed?" He smiled a big friendly smile and said somewhat sheepishly, "Well, I'm going kinda far." "How far is far?" I asked, unable to disguise my incredulity. "Downey," he answered (which is about 35 miles away but in a different direction from our Bible study). "With THAT heavy thing?" I asked, pointing to what I now recognized as a large electronic keyboard case. I also noticed with some relief that he had in his hand an open Bible and was wearing a clean white T-shirt with a Bible verse on it. “What's in Downey that you're planning on dragging that thing all the way there?" I asked. He replied that he was going to his church to meet his youth for choir practice and evening worship.
We told him that we were on our way to our own Bible study but that we would give him a ride. As we strained to load the unwieldy keyboard into our minivan, I got a true sense of how heavy it was and couldn't help thinking to myself again, “And he was planning to drag this thing all the way to Downey?” I was thankful that God had prompted us take the minivan that day even though we had originally planned to drive our passenger car.
AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY
On our drive to Downey we found out more about the incredible journey that this young man named Devon had embarked upon. He told us that he rented a room in a house not far from our house, worked part time for UPS, and was an aspiring Christian musician. On weekends, he helped out at two small churches, one of which was in Downey, leading out in music and youth ministry. When we asked how he managed to do all this without a car, Devon told us that he had a car but that he had just given it away because he felt led by the Spirit to do so in order to “plant a seed" in the person to whom he gave the car. He said that God called him to make this sacrifice and that he wanted to obey before Satan could talk him out of it. Devon had tried to find a ride but couldn't, so when the time came, God told him to just start walking, and that's what he did. We laughed together saying that God had asked some people in the Bible to do even more outrageous things in faith, but still, this took the cake!
JUST IN TIME
Devon shared that before he left his house he received a call from one of his kids asking him for a ride. When he told her that he couldn't because he didn't have a car, she asked how he was going to get to church. He had replied, "I'll see you there. Be on time!" Just the previous week, he had told the kids how important it was to be on time as a way of honoring God. Upon hearing this, I looked at the clock and noted that with Friday evening rush hour traffic there was no way we could make it to his church by 6pm, but at least we would get him there.
When we asked how he was going to manage going to work next week, he smiled and said "Well, let's see what God will do." He was brimming with joy and confidence and seemed completely oblivious to how crazy all this sounded, even to a fellow believer. We continued to share and revel in the joy of God’s providence and lost track of time until we pulled into the driveway of the church. It was exactly 5:56pm and some kids were already there waiting. Devon noted, "Those kids are never on time."
In bringing us together, God had worked it out so that we would not only get him there, but also get him there on time to reward the faithfulness of those kids. Before parting, we prayed together and praised God for bringing us together in such an amazing way. He gave us his business card so that we could stay in touch. It read: Devo – Called and Chosen.
(Part II continues here).
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Dr. Ruth Chung is the Associate Professor of Clinical Education at the University of Southern California.