He was a long skinny guy, probably in his 60s, standing next to a Honda minivan. It was a good opportunity. I stopped to get gas next to him. I asked him if I could pray for him. I had noticed a cross hanging from his rear-view mirror, so I figured he might say yes. I wasn’t looking for a yes, but it’s nice to know what to expect.
He told me I could pray for him -- "And I’ll pray for you, too," he said. But he was distracted. He immediately went back to trying to figure out the credit card reader, which was confusing him. I asked if I could help, and he let me. It took us a few minutes of both of us staring at it before the light dawned and a really simple problem was fixed. Then I asked again if I could pray for him, telling him about my project. He said I could, so I did. His head stayed bowed for a moment after I finished praying, his hands clasped in front of him. Then he looked up and thanked me.
Turns out, he was a talkative guy. We stood there talking about running. As it turns out, he had just retired the previous Friday from his job as a PE teacher in Illinois. Now he was in Colorado helping with the road races in Leadville. We talked about the super-endurance races – more than 20 miles per day – and about the 100-mile race coming up in August. This guy was extreme. He'd run more than 20 miles each of the past two days.
But he was kind. About his job, he noted that he’d made a million dollars during his career and he’d spent a million dollars. He’s single with no kids. He pointed to the minivan – "That’s all I came away with," he said. But, he said smiling, he felt like he'd never worked a day in his life and he’d touched a lot of lives.
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