Day 296: Turnpike II

She was the second Turnpike worker I've prayed for. We'd been down to Winfield for Sophia's first swim meet (she did awesome, by the way), and it was getting close to 11 p.m. as we pulled into the South Wichita interchange. Mary was with me, and two girls -- Sophia and Isabella -- were asleep in the back.

A short woman was in the booth. I gave her a dollar for the toll and then asked her my question. She looked surprised, like most people do, and then she looked down behind me to make sure there was no one waiting. It was all clear. There was time. So I said a quick prayer for her, asking God to keep her safe. She thanked me, and then we were back on our way.

Day 295: Monster

He was wearing a shirt with the logo of Monster Energy Drink on the front. The way it was designed made it look like a race jersey of some kind, like for motorcycles or bikes. But the guy wearing it didn't look like a racer. He was average height and a little heavy-set. He was wearing a ball cap.

I saw him as he was walking in Old Town, going north on Mead Street, and I stopped to ask him my question. He immediately said yes. "Absolutely," he said, "that's great." No hesitation at all. And he had a real engaging way about him. So I prayed for him, and he thanked me.

Day 294: Silver Mustang

It was a really nice car. Clean and sleek. The guy driving it was probably in his 20s -- a skinny guy wearing baggy shorts, a t-shirt, a flat-brimmed ball cap and sunglasses. He'd been into the QuikShop and came out with a box of doughnuts and a drink. This was in the evening. For some reason, he didn't fit the car.

When I asked to pray for him, he just squinted at me into the sun, but he didn't say anything. I finally told him about my project. There was another long pause. Hesitatingly, he said "yes." I prayed a prayer of protection and blessing for him. He thanked me. I told him I liked his car.

Day 293: No and yes

She didn't want anything to do with me. Her face said it all. She was a heavy-set, 40-year-old-or-so woman driving a little SUV, painted bright yellow. She looked at me through her glasses, her facing kind of scrunching up when I asked my question. Then, simply, "No thank you." She turned her back, got in her car and left.

I was at QuikTrip, still filling up with gas. That's when I got sidetracked with a text message from my brother showing a picture of a mountain lake he'd hiked to that day. (He lives in Colorado and was just rubbing it in.) So while I was offering up a response, another little SUV drove up to the gas pump next to mine.

There was a passenger in the front seat, appearing to be asleep. And a woman got out of the driver's seat and began filling up with gas. She was probably in her 50s. I just took it as an extra opportunity and asked her my question as well. She barely hesitated, "Sure." So I prayed for her, particularly for her safety. Then she told me she was headed for Salina that night. She thanked me for the prayer.

Day 292: Pool guy

He was leaning against a yellow van -- with "Thurman Pools" written across the back of it -- filling up with gas. The guy was probably in his 20s, skinny with a beard and shaved head. He looked at me curiously when I asked my question. It was one of those looks like you give someone who has a very strange idea.

I just told him about my project and reiterated that I wanted to pray for him. Finally, "Go ahead," he said. So I prayed for him. He thought it was kind of funny, and probably a little ridiculous. That's OK. He thanked me as I left.

Day 291: No time

He was standing next to a red Grand Am, filling it with gas. I was standing on the other side of the pump, filling my Honda Civic. I looked over to him and caught his attention. His shirt said "Triumph," which I took to signify one of the aerospace companies in town. The guy, himself, was probably in his 50s.

I asked him my question. "You can if you want to," he responded. I noticed his teeth for some reason. They weren't straight. Mine aren't either. Then I asked if he had 10 seconds for a prayer right then. He kind of waved me off. "No. No. I don't really have time right now." OK, I told him. But he stuck out his hand then, thanking me anyway, and I shook it.

Then I went back to filling up my car with gas. And he did, too. We stood there for a few moments in silence, and then he walked into the convenience store. When I left, I noticed a small cross hung from his rear-view mirror. I was thankful for that.

Day 290: 'If you want'

It was a lackadaisical answer. "If you want," he said. It also came after much silent pondering, while I stood there waiting. Of course, what would you expect at the kind of question I was asking?

The guy I'd found was in his 50s with a mustache and glasses and driving a white Ford Ranger with a topper. He really did pause in answering me. A slight smile crept across his face. And then, finally, "If you want." I did want to, so I prayed for him.

He thanked me after I finished.