Jeff's Prayers

When a stranger sits down in front of you

Inspire Coffee 8 W Pine St, Lodi, CA 95240

Every time I leave the house someone teaches me something new about myself. I forget that people, strange people like to tell me unsolicited stories. This time, I was in Lodi in a coffee shop named Inspire Coffee. The tagline on the counter said “Fuel your dreams.”

The introvert in me wanted to sit in this coffee shop and zone out on whatever I was writing.

However, Jeff walked over from another table and took a seat in front of me. A book Agape Road was in his left hand and in his right an empty coffee cup. He said without introduction or transition “Tell me what's on your heart.”

Honestly, my first thought was that I was going to be trapped in a corner booth with no way to escape. I glanced at the counter and the three young people were not meeting my eye contact.

Shit.

So I inhaled deeply and replied “ Well, sir you sat down with me. Tell me what's on your heart.”

So he began to spin his tale of how he gave his life over to The Lord some 55 years ago. He was 21, living with three roommates in Laguna. He went to church at his family's request that night. He wanted to go out. The voice in his head telling him that if he could get out of that church there was a bigger party waiting for him outside. But he stayed.

I was expecting one of two things in this moment— either Jeff was going to tell me that he used to be a racist and wanted to ask for my Black ass forgiveness or that I was going to get a full sermon on how I needed to turn my life over to Christ because Jeff compelled me to.

I sipped my “Carmel Apple Cider”… Yes because that’s how it was spelled on the menu board. So I sipped while he continued to tell his tale, speaking to himself and saying his full name “Jeff McC***” throughout the odessey.

He sat in the pew next to his brother Ross, who told him that he was praying for him to stay. The pastor of the church spoke to every sin that Jeff had convicted in his 21 years on the planet. So much so he believed his brother had told the pastor about him. But no. That wasn’t the case.

It was also that night that he met his wife, Cheryl. I asked where she was. Cheryl, was at that moment, in a Starbucks across town with a friend having coffee. He continued to tell me that Cheryl’s mother had told her daughter to steer clear of him until that moment in church.

After the sermon, she pulled the teary-eyed Jeff to the side and explained that if he was going to change his life, then Cheryl was the woman to help him through it. They married nine months later and have been married for 55 years raising 4 sons who now have 4 wives.

Jeff then asked me if I was married. I replied no. He then grabbed both of my hands into his and proceeded to tell me that I should make sure the man that I would eventually marry was kind, gentle and that he had a strong love of God in his life.

Jeff continued that through his own love of his wife and love of the Lord that he was able to love me. He said he was supposed to leave an hour ago to drive home to Galt but felt compelled to stay until we crossed paths.

Jeff then stood up, put his hand on my shoulder and said a prayer for me and my heart. When he was done with his prayer, he kissed my forehead and threw his cup in the trash before leaving.

There was a piece of me that wanted that song “What if God were one of us?” to start playing because…

Choose your bad decisions wisely.