He was a big guy with a bushy beard, and he just stared at me when I walked up to him. He had been filling his SUV with gas at the Kwik Shop in Maize when I asked him my question. He just gave me the normal pause, and then "No." He stepped back away from me and then stuck out his hand, again saying "No." Then he said, "Don't bother me," and he walked back around his vehicle.
I just turned and went to my car. The guy didn't want to be bothered, so I would honor that. My reaction to episodes like that one are almost always the same. On one hand, I'm annoyed that someone would be so rude and assume so much about me. That's my natural side. On the other, I just feel compelled to pray for the guy. I'm never sure exactly what I should pray, but just to ask God to be present for that man. That's the side of me that's not natural. It's the side that has absolutely nothing to do with me. And it's the side I want more of -- the side I want to feel first in cases like this one.
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