Fred smiled. “We’re a traveling Christian singing group. We call ourselves Alive.”
The homeless man’s eyes lit up. “A professional singing group? Really?”
“Yes.” Fred grinned at his wife. “We’re professional.”
Ashley pretended to study her silverware. Professional? How could he call them a professional singing group when they could barely afford to eat? And what about their sleeping arrangements? The motor home they were staying in was a far cry from the luxurious hotel suites Ashley had pictured before the trip.
“So you say you’re Christians, huh?” Gus asked. He lowered his eyebrows doubtfully. “Well, Christians, I have a few questions for you.” The man waited until everyone, even Ashley, was watching him. “You people talk about how much God loves me. How am I supposed to believe that? Look at me, living on the streets. If God loves me why doesn’t he get me off the streets?”
Fred looked around at the group. When no one spoke up, he turned toward Gus.
“Well, Gus, God’s love doesn’t really show up in fine clothes and comfortable lifestyles.” He folded his arms, his words slow and easy. “But I can prove God loves you.”
“Okay.” The man grunted. “Prove it.”
“Have you heard about Jesus?”
The man nodded.
“Jesus died for you, Gus, did you know that?” Fred cocked his head, his eyes shining with sincerity.
Ashley studied Fred, amazed at the man’s faith
“Jesus, huh?” Gus let loose a shaky sigh. “I’ve heard about that, but I guess it never really made much difference to me.”
At that moment, Rita began to speak. “If you were the only person in the whole world, Jesus still would have died for you. He loves you that much.” She reached out and took Fred’s hand, her voice soft. “Of course it’s up to you, whether you want to believe or not.”
Two of the other group members nodded in unison. “You know why He died on the cross, right?” one of them asked.
Gus shook his head. “Not really.”
As the conversation continued, Ashley forgot Gus’s dirty condition and became deeply interested. She had never known anyone who understood so little about God. She was a pastor’s daughter, after all. She took for granted that everyone had been exposed to the same type of upbringing she’d been given. She turned in her chair so she could get a better look at Gus.
“Jesus died to pay the price for our sins,” Fred said simply. “Basically, because of Him you’re a free man, Gus.”
“A free man? I’ve always been free.”
“Not really,” Ashley cut in. The others looked at her in surprise as she turned to Gus again. “When we’re free in Christ, our circumstances don’t really matter anymore. All that matters is that he’s with us, he loves us, and he’ll see us safely home in the end.”
The moment Ashley finished speaking she realized what she’d just said. Our circumstances don’t really matter anymore? Was that the way she’d been feeling on this singing tour? The conversation around her grew dim as she stared at her lap. She’d been silently complaining for weeks now, grumbling about the cramped quarters in the motor home and the other inconveniences of living on the road.
The truth was she’d forgotten her mother’s words about going on the tour for all the right reasons—as a way of using her gift of song to touch hearts for God. Instead it had been all about her. How comfortable she was … how many people wanted to see her sing … how much money they raised in the process. Now this man sat beside her, hungry for a kind of truth she had taken for granted since she was a kid. Tears stung her eyes and she closed them, ashamed at herself. Forgive me, God. What have I done? Judging people like this … this poor homeless man. Thinking I’m better than everyone else. I’m so sorry, God. Really.
For the next thirty minutes the group members took turns sharing their personal stories with Gus, the reasons why they had come to believe, and the certainty that God still heard their prayers and worked miracles among them.
“Miracles, huh?” There was a sudden twinkle in Gus’s eyes. “I believe in miracles, too.”
By the time dinner arrived, the weary old man seemed to understand. For the first time since they’d met him that evening, hope played across his weathered face. Hope where only an hour before there had been none.
“Come with us,” Fred said as the group prepared to leave. “We’ll take you to the next town. There’s a big church there and we’ll set you up with someone who can help you.”
“You’d do that? For me?” The corners of Gus’s mouth worked their way into a smile.
“Definitely.” Fred patted Gus on the back. “Come with us,”
Gus nodded but this time he glanced at a clock on the wall. “I need to use the facilities first.” He stood and took slow steps toward a restroom nestled in the back of the room. The group waited a few minutes, and then some more. Finally Fred stood up. “I’m going to make sure he’s all right. He might need help.”
The others got up at the same time and agreed to meet Fred and Gus out front of the restaurant. Outside, they chatted about the dinner and the way God’s truth had touched Gus’s heart. After several minutes, they began checking their watches and staring back inside the restaurant.
“What’s taking so long?” Ashley peered through the glass looking for a sign of Fred and Gus.
Rita was about to go back in after the two men when suddenly Fred darted out the front door, his face a mask of confusion.
“Did he come out this way?” Fred found Rita, his eyes searching hers. “I can’t find him anywhere.”
Rita shook her head. “We haven’t seen him. Did you check the other exits?”
“The manager said there’s an emergency exit in the back near the cook’s station. But not in the room where we were eating. The only way out was the way we came in.”
“Did you look in the restroom?” Rita crossed her arms, and Ashley and the others formed a half circle behind her.
“I started there. We all watched him go in, and there’s no way he could’ve gotten out without us seeing him. There’s only one window in the bathroom and it’s near the ceiling. Much too small for a man to climb through.”
“You’re sure he’s not in there?” Rita tilted her head, clearly confused.
“I checked each stall. Then I went to the kitchen.” Fred shook his head. “They said they would’ve noticed a stranger walking through there. They hadn’t seen anyone matching Gus’s description all night. And not a single customer had been in the kitchen.”
“So you thought maybe he came out this way?”
“It doesn’t make sense.” Fred anchored his hands on his hips. “All of us saw him go into the restroom. He couldn’t have come out without getting past us and none of us saw him leave. But I had to ask. Just in case.”
The group members scanned the length of the street and shook their heads.
“I’m sure he hasn’t been out this way.” Ashley stepped forward. “Where could he be, Fred? It doesn’t make sense.”
Fred walked back into the restaurant and went up to the manager, whose desk was just inside the doorway.
“Have you seen a man with sort of old, ripped clothes and—”
“You mean the bum you brought in here?” The manager frowned. “I’ve been here for the past half hour. He hasn’t come out this way since he went in to eat.”
Fred returned to the group outside and sat on a nearby brick wall. There were only two ways out of the restaurant—through the front door or through an emergency door in the back of the kitchen. No one had seen Gus near any of those exits.
“I can’t understand it. It’s like he just disappeared.” Fred scanned the sidewalk, still looking for a sign of the old man.
Suddenly, a heart-stopping possibility washed over Ashley. “You don’t think, maybe …” She grew silent. Her father had talked about angels once in a while in his sermons.
“They’re real,” he’d told his children on
ce a long time ago. “Because God says they’re real.”
Fred looked at her for a moment and then understood. “You mean, maybe he was an angel?”
Ashley nodded, and a wave of goose bumps rose across her arms and legs. “It’s possible, isn’t it? I mean the guy asks us about God and helps us—” She glanced at the others. “Well, helps me, anyway, remember why we’re doing this singing tour in the first place. Then, poof! Just like that he disappears. Sounds like an angel to me.”
Fred gazed at Ashley. “I guess we’ll never know.”
But Ashley was convinced. God must have sent the man to remind her of her purpose—not just her purpose while traveling with Alive, but her purpose in life. After their encounter with Gus, Ashley was able to finish the tour without once grumbling about her comfort. In fact, the trip wound up being life-changing, just like Ashley had hoped.
But not in the way she had expected.
Angel in a Police Car
The prom was everything Kara Spelling had dreamed it would be. She and her boyfriend danced and laughed and talked until late in the night. Now it was after one in the morning and time to drive back down Interstate 17 to their homes in Camp Verde, Arizona. Kara was just a junior that year and her boyfriend didn’t have a car. But the prom was an hour north in Flagstaff and her parents had agreed to let her drive if she was careful.
“Be careful.” Her father had kissed her on the forehead before she left. “You look beautiful, honey. I know it’ll be a night you’ll never forget. But make sure you watch yourself on the way home.”
Kara’s parents were less nervous about the drive than they might’ve been because it involved all freeway miles. Another common two-lane route ten miles west of the freeway had been the site of dozens of head-on collisions. Many of them fatal.
“The freeway is much safer, dear.” Her mother had smiled as they pulled away the day before. “Make sure you take the freeway and you should be just fine.”
Although several of Kara’s classmates had chosen to drink at the prom and stay in rented hotel rooms at the place where the prom was held, Kara hadn’t drunk anything but water. As she climbed into the car, she kicked off her high heels and tossed them in the backseat. Then she smiled at her boyfriend, Thane. “I’m glad we don’t drink.” She grinned at him. “It’s so stupid. Those guys’ll throw up all night and not remember a bit of what happened at the prom.”
“I know.” Thane slid into the car beside her and buckled the belt. “It’s a good feeling … having fun and remembering it. Besides,” he laced his fingers between hers. “I feel good doing the right thing.”
Kara nodded and pulled out onto the main road. “You tired?”
Thane yawned. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Go ahead and sleep. I’m fine.” Kara cast him a quick glance. “Besides, it’s an hour back home. You might as well get some rest.”
Five minutes later she entered Interstate 17 north and settled back in her seat. Thane wasn’t a Christian, but he was heading that way fast. A long time ago he had partied with the wilder crowd. But then he met Kara and her friends and started going to church with them. Before long, Kara and Thane were dating. Nothing serious, but enough to be considered an “item.”
Every day Kara prayed for Thane—that God would get his attention and help him make a decision to believe. He was close to that; he had to be. Otherwise, why did he help her serve meals at the homeless shelter in nearby Cottonwood each Tuesday night? Whatever it takes, Lord, she would pray. Just make him believe in you. Whatever it takes.
Kara thought about that prayer now as she took a quick look at Shane. They’d only been driving ten minutes and already he was sound asleep. He was so cute, she thought. So tall compared to the other junior guys.
She stared at the freeway ahead of her. She’d been driving for almost a year and already this stretch of interstate felt as familiar to her as the streets around her home. Her sister was in her first year at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, so Kara and her parents had made the trip often. Especially that past year.
Kara drew in a slow breath and felt herself relax. The interstate was wide and safe, but utterly remote. There were stretches where she would drive fifteen miles without even an exit to break up the monotony. A monotony that was worse at night when the Arizona desert spread out on either side of her, vast and pitch dark.
A yawn came out of Kara and then another. Kara shook her head and slapped her cheeks lightly. She was more tired than she’d thought. She turned on the radio and opened her window a crack. There … that oughta do the trick.
And it did for another ten minutes. But less than halfway home, she closed her eyes for just a moment and her head began to drop. Suddenly she jerked it back up again, her eyes wide open, her heart racing. What had she almost done? She shot a look at her speedometer. She was going seventy-five miles per hour. If she’d fallen asleep… She couldn’t finish the thought. If she were that tired, she’d have to pull off the side of the road and get some ice water, anything to keep her awake. But how many miles would it be until then? Ten? Twenty?
“Come on, Lord.” She whispered the words, her heart pounding so hard it was difficult for her to speak. “Keep me awake. Just until the next rest stop.”
Less than a minute later, Kara felt herself nod off again. At about the same time, she saw flashing lights in her rearview mirror. She swallowed hard as she realized the lights belonged to a police car. Great. I must’ve been swerving. Again, her heart raced. Thank you, God … even if I’m in trouble. At least I didn’t kill us.
As Kara pulled over, she wondered where the officer had come from. There had been no traffic on the interstate for miles, and the area she was traveling was practically deserted. Kara looked down and remembered that she was driving barefoot. She thought about reaching into the backseat and grabbing her shoes, but it was too late. She poked at Thane as she parked the car on the side of the road.
“What … where are we?” He opened his eyes and squinted as he saw the flashing lights behind them.
“I got pulled over.” She rolled down the window and waited for the officer to approach.
As nervous as Kara was, her relief was greater. She was wide awake now, but what would’ve happened if the officer hadn’t pulled her over? A uniformed man walked toward her car and shone a flashlight just high enough so he could see her face. Kara had never been pulled over before. She hoped her parents would understand.
“Good evening, Officer,” Kara said as the patrolman stopped beside her open window.
“Are you alright?” The officer bent over and looked at Kara. Something about his face seemed peaceful, almost unearthly. She noticed that his badge number read 37—the same number she wore for her high school’s basketball team.
“Yes, sir. I’m fine.”
The officer laughed. “Go ahead and put your shoes on. You’ll be safer that way.”
Kara felt her heart skip a beat. Her shoes? How had the officer known about her shoes? Beside her, Thane reached into the backseat, grabbed her pumps, and handed them to her. She shot him a silent thank-you and slipped them on. But before she could ask the officer how he’d known she was barefoot, he spoke again.
“You’ve been driving a long way and it’s late. You almost fell asleep out there, didn’t you?”
“Why … yes.” Again Kara was stunned. It was like he could read her mind, like he’d been riding beside her the entire time. “Our prom went later than I thought and, well, I guess I’m pretty tired.” She met his eyes again and noticed that he never blinked. She exhaled slowly. “Maybe you can tell me where the nearest rest stop is.”
“Better yet, I’ll take you there.” The officer smiled and nodded to Kara. “You help other people all the time. Now it’s your turn to get a little assistance. Follow me.” The officer turned to leave.
“Wait!” Kara cried out after the man. “How did you know that?”
The officer cocked his head and gave Kara a look that went st
raight to her soul. Almost as though the man knew everything about her. “We officers make it our business to know those things.”
Kara glanced at Thane and saw that he was just as surprised as her. First the shoes, then the fact that she was tired. And finally the bit about her helping other people. All of it was right on, but how in the world had the officer known? She looked back at the man again. “Aren’t you giving me a ticket or something?”
“Nope.” Again the officer grinned. “Just wanted to make sure you were all right. That’s my job, you know.”
Kara nodded, distracted by the officer’s strange comments. The entire scene was like something from a sci-fi novel. And none of it made sense.
As soon as the patrolman was back in his car, he pulled out in front of Kara and motioned for her to follow. She did, staying behind him as he drove several miles south.
A minute later, Thane finally found his voice. “Kara, did you hear that guy?” Thane turned to face her. She could see without taking her gaze off the road that his face was ashen. “How did he know that stuff?”
“I’m not sure. It’s weird, huh?”
“More than weird.”
Intent on following the officer, Kara had no trouble staying awake. Finally the police car signaled and exited down a ramp off the interstate, where it made a quick right turn. Kara stayed as close behind as she could, taking the same turn. But at that point she could no longer see the police car. She hit the brake and stared straight ahead.
There was a rest area complete with a gas station and all-night restaurant and a parking lot. But the police car was nowhere. “Which way did he go?” She peered ahead and then glanced at Thane.
“He couldn’t have gone far. We saw him turn this way and”—Thane looked out the window and scanned the parking lot—“there’s nowhere else he could be.”
“He must be in the parking lot.” Kara continued into the rest area, driving slowly so she could find the police car. But her search turned up nothing. The police car was gone.
“Maybe he parked behind the restaurant.” Thane sat back and studied Kara. “Where else could he be?”