Picking up a Stranger

I used to work across town during the summers. Every morning I would drive to work secretly hoping that I would get a chance to pick up a hitch hiker. For some reason, I had this heart to pick some person up and give them a lift while pouring out some love on to them in my car. I wasn't going to pick up just anyone. It had to be a girl and I preferred if she was alone. I wasn't willing to drive them past where I worked so I would have had to drop them off there and then they would have had to find a ride further.

After two summers, I didn't get the chance to pick up any one.

After my failed mission, I was driving up to Pemberton, on the coast of British Columbia, with a friend of mine when I started telling her my desire to one day pick up a hitch hiker. She laughed at me and promised that if we saw one along the way, we would pick her up.

To our surprise, we turned the corner and there was a cute girl with high heel shoes and a classy pea coat sticking her thumb out at us. We burst into laughter at the sheer absurdity of the situation and pulled over to let her in. She definitely wasn't the grungy, torn jeans, dreaded hair, smoke in one hand kind of girl I had imagined picking up. Instead she had a suitcase with wheels and a short mini skirt with J.Lo style sunglasses holding back her hair. We gave her a ride till Whistler (we learned she was a professional snowboarder) and then continued our journey.

However, yesterday I got the chance that I had been waiting for for two summers.

I was driving home last night and passed two ladies on the other side of the road of me. They were trying to get a ride to the direction I was just coming from. As I looked in my rear view mirror, I recognized the girl's face. She was a girl that I went to elementary school with and who I hadn't seen in probably 10 years.

Then my stomach dropped realizing that this was my chance. And now I actually have to do it. I kept driving trying to convince myself that it was not a good idea but God kept nagging at my spirit. I put on my blinker and turned around.

I drove passed her and parked in a near by parking lot. I called out her name and she looked at me puzzled. She came closer and said, "Oh my God! Nikole MacGregor?!!" We gave each other a big hug and started chatting about life. I asked where they were headed. It was a town about 20km away (and where I had just come from). I hesitated again not really wanting to drive all the way back (and I had a massive headache and just wanted to get home to some painkillers) but God kept nudging me to take them home.

So that's what I did.

And it was delightful.

They were so grateful for the ride and I was so grateful to catch up with this precious girl. I drove back home (still with a gigantic headache) happy that I obeyed God's nudging, stepped out of my comfort zone, and helped a sister out.