He let me

Why is it that when we pray and get what we want, we miss it completely? I’m reminded of the story of the man on his roof during a flood. He begs God to save him, but unless it’s on his terms, he doesn’t take the opportunities.
A similar thing happened to me last night. I had been thinking and praying about not witnessing recently. I couldn’t think of the last time I had been able to share the Gospel with someone. I prayed and prayed God would give the opportunity to share His word. Guess what, He’ll let you.
Here is the setting: I got off work extremely late last night because the bus I drive broke down. Not to get too technical, but you have to understand this to get the full effect of the situation. Our buses have four wheels on the back axle, two on each side. The inside wheel of my bus completely severed from the axle so I was driving on the outside tire and the inside was just turning loosely.
Now I know when it happened, because I felt something go wrong, but I couldn’t tell what it was. I was on my last round and the bus would still drive so I continued on. I figured the mechanics would check it out when I was done, so I drove like this for about half an hour. It wasn’t until I got about as far away from the school as possible that the outside tire went flat from all the excess weight and stress. This happened at 6:10 and I have a class at 7:00. Here I am stuck. About the only thing to do is drive the bus back, really slow. It took me almost 45 minutes to drive two and miles back to the bus barn. When I got there, one of the mechanics who has been there for many years told me he has never seen, nor heard of anything like that happening. The inside tire that had broken free was now riding on the brake drum and supported the entire weight of the bus. He said he couldn’t believe it would even drive like that. Now this is not the true miracle.
I now had about five minutes to get to class, six blocks away. On my way into class, a man in a wheelchair was getting ready to go outside. It was extremely cold out, something like -30 with the wind-chill. He looked like he was having difficulty with his coat zipper because his hands were also affected by his apparent disorder. I remember thinking how blessed I am to be healthy.
Let me stop you here. I know what you’re thinking, but when you’re in a hurry you don’t always see things the right way. In my own defense, he looked like he was getting it and I thought it was just one of the struggles he would have in life, and I had to get to class. Lo and behold, the professor was late also.
I would love to say that my mind thought of the man in the wheelchair and I got up and went out to help him and save the day, but that’s not quite what happened. As I sat there, I realized I hadn’t gotten to eat anything because of my delay. Being a good little fatty-fat, I had some snacks in my coat, but the wrapper was very loud, so I walked outside the classroom to eat.
The man in the wheelchair was still struggling with his coat. I asked him if I could help and zipped his coat for him. Sometimes it isn’t till later you fully realize what happened.
I’m not saying the guy needed my help or even wanted it. I don’t even particularly remember him thanking me. He probably wasn’t struggling for hours, and was maybe just having a difficult time with a new coat. More than like likely he wasn’t praying for a Good Samaritan. But, he let me. In truthfulness, it probably meant more to me. He may never think about it again, but it was something I will never forget. Not because of zipping a man’s coat, but because of what God allowed to happen, or caused, or whatever he does, to allow me to zip a coat.
It may not always be on our terms how things happen.
For me here is what happened. I prayed for opportunities to share. My bus broke and let me to get as far away as possible. Then it broke again so I would have to take my time getting back. Then my professor is late, and I happen to have a snack. All this, so God can let me zip a man’s coat.