During a 7 week trek on the Underground Railroad, bicycling from Mobile, Alabama on the Gulf Coast to Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada along the Great Lakes, my fellow pastor Joe and I met "God." Not literally, of course, but...well, a sign of God's presence.
The UGRR is mostly back roads with few services. We'd taken a break around mile 20, but had no place to stop for the next 30-35 miles. We were famished and tried to make a town that seemed never to show up. Finally, we had to stop or fall over on our bikes, on a day that was hot, hilly, and, just plain exhausting. We had some bread and PB&J to fix sands but really preferred to eat at a convenience store deli as we did most of the 2,500 mile trip.
As we dismounted a woman suddenly appeared--sort of like the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. She was driving a gold PT Cruiser, pulled up, rolled down her window and yelled, "Are you hungry?" We instantly exclaimed, "YES!" She told us she'd just come from a pot luck dinner at her church and had some pumpkin bars leftover. She gave each of us 4 delicious bars to eat.
As she handed them to us, she said, "Would you like some cabbage rolls?" Still hungry, we again shouted, "YES!" She asked if we had some forks, which we did, and then told us she lived only 2 doors down and would bring some bowls for our rolls.
By the time she got back we'd eaten the bars and filled our bowls with the beef-filled cabbage rolls, smothered in tomato sauce. We asked if we could have some more pumpkin bars, which she gave us.
As she pulled away, Joe said what I was thinking, "If this doesn't make you believe in God, nothing will." That day manna looked like pumpkin bars and cabbage rolls. Later I thought, if we'd been a moment sooner or later and not stopped where we did, we wouldn't have enjoyed such exquisitely-timed grace. But that's how God is: Suddenly surprising us!
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