blessings of the wanderer....

Ever wonder why God causes people to cross your path? Are you intended to bless them? Are they intended to challenge you? I've asked my self these questions lately.
God caused an incredible young man to come into my life for three short days, but I hope to call him friend for the rest of my life. His name, Luke Copeland; his story, one of courage and faith. Luke graduated from college this past May, and since then has started a journey that some think is crazy, but most envy. He is in the process of traveling to all fifty states and staying with a new family in each one. Sometimes he knows the family, sometimes he just knows of them, sometimes he doesn't know where he'll stay until he's there. Where ever he goes, he absorbs the scenery, observes the people, touches lives and serves his God.
I was blessed to have him cross my path this weekend. Because of a lack of understanding on my part, Luke got into Indy Friday morning with no place to stay that night. Once I realized I was supposed to be his contact person here and find him somewhere to stay, I stressed and went into panic mode. I called everybody I could think of to bail me out. (blessing #1 It forced me to be vulnerable and talk with people I'd not spoken to in a while.) By the grace of God, my friend Doug managed to get his friend, Chris, from church, to help me out. Later that night I spoke to Chris about the arrangements and such... for those of you who don't know, talking to someone I don't know is way out of my comfort zone, but Chris was very willing to help out a sister and brother in need. (blessing #2 Made a new friend in Christ.)
Saturday morning, I left Luke with a list of things to do, as he was at my house to help me get it closer to sellable. (Is that a word? ) When I returned, I intended on 'helping' him, but it turned into a time of great conversation. We talked about everything from the plight of the homeless, to the owl my momma made when I was a baby that sits in my house, to Kyle. He tenderly asked me questions about what happened, and I was able to share with him the details of the accident including how God so obviously saved my life. It was nice to talk about it. That may sound strange, but I was able to do it without tears. I wasn't trying to hold them back, I spoke freely ~ they just didn't come. (blessing #3 Talking about something so painful without letting it ruin my mood or my day... It was cleansing.)
Later that afternoon, once I realized the boy hadn't eaten all day, I cooked him dinner. It was not my best, but it wasn't too bad either. Again, we had great conversation. He was very complimentary and appreciative, and I was tickled to feed a southern boy. (blessing #4 remembering the joy I get out of cooking for someone that's thankful and tells me so.)
I saw Luke one last time Sunday evening. A group of us went to the Ordinary to eat the best pizza in Indy. Sarah, Carrie, Chris, Luke and I sat and shared stories and laughter for 2 hours. It was a lot of fun, and I hated to see the evening end. As we parted ways, I thought of how the weekend began. God is so amazing! He took what started out a stressful weekend and made it into a time that I can look back on and know He was reminding me of who He is. ( blessing #5 Refocusing and enjoying every minute.)
To sum up, God blessed my socks off this weekend, and He used a new lifelong friend to do it!