Bikes, Backpacks, and a Glimpse of the Holy

“There’s a homeless couple outside and they want to pitch a tent in the grass behind the church.”

“Can you get them a couple of water bottles, and I’ll be down in a second.”

Being located so close to the highway and interstate, it’s a daily occurrence to encounter people that need financial, food, or fuel assistance, so I do what I usually do when I meet someone. I introduce myself, ask their names, shake their hands, sit down with them, and ask them what I can do for them and listen to their story. They don’t seem to need money, food, or gas. They’re a young couple, sweaty, tired looking, and are riding two worn-out looking bikes loaded with faded fabric saddlebags across their wheels with what appears to be all of their possessions neatly packaged. The young man has a thick Dutch accent that stands out from the usual accents I encounter in central Shelby County, Alabama. He begins his story, “My name is Olivier, and this is Zoe. We’re traveling the world and want to know if it’s okay if we stop for the night and camp in the back of your church. The traffic has gotten really dangerous, and we can’t ride our bikes on the street anymore tonight.”

Now, real talk for a second. I hear a lot of stories. Usually the stories aren’t true, or the details are unclear, fuzzy, or intentionally or unintentionally vague for a variety of good reasons, but I try to listen for the need behind the story. If I focus on what is true or not true, then I might miss out on the true need that is underneath the story.

Okay, a world...adventure…travel…trip…thing…sure, whatever. If you say so—waving the story off in my mind to try and understand if their need is short-term or long-term and how I might be able to help before I leave the office tonight.

“I tell you what. You can’t sleep here, but I can set you up in a motel just up the road here tonight. I’ll drive you up there and you can stay the night there.”

Their eyes light up. They can’t believe it. A shower. Electricity. It sounds like five-star accommodations to them, and I hesitate to tell them to just wait until they see it. We throw their bikes into the back of the truck, and we go down the road. Once we reach the motel, Olivier hops out to get the two loaded down bikes out of the back of the truck while I go inside to pay and get them their room. When I come back out, I hand them their keys, shake their hands, and jump back in my truck with no expectation to ever see them again. My work here is done. But before I pull out of the parking lot, Zoe comes up and hands me a thank you card, which in itself is uncommon, but even more surprising, she also hands me a business card. I’ve been handed a lot of things by people we’ve helped over the years, but I’ve never been handed a business card.

In my hurry to get back to work, I don’t even look too closely at the two cards in my hand. I threw them on the passenger seat, turned to wish Olivier and Zoe well, and left them to their trip…adventure…travel…thing.

Later that evening, I get in my truck to head home and see the cards out of the corner of my eye and decide to check them out. One is a postcard with pictures of them both in different countries all over the world. The business card has a website, facebook page, instragram feed, and YouTube site followed by the description. “Self-supported full-time travelers.”

They were telling the truth?! Who in the world did I just meet? Did I just meet the most interesting people in the world and not even know it?!

I felt bad that I didn’t get a chance to really hear their stories and ask them any questions about their adventures. I decided to call the motel and ring their room. When they answered, I asked if I could take them to breakfast tomorrow morning. The next morning, we went to a local bakery, and I listened to the most fascinating tales as they showed me pictures and told me stories of European countrysides, Atlantic voyages, South American treks, and North American encounters.

We sat for hours laughing, sharing, and asking questions back and forth.

I left breakfast that morning amazed at how people right in front of us have stories and lives that would blow us away, and most of the time, we have no idea and pass right by them...a true Matthew 25 story.

In Matthew 25:31-45, we hear Jesus share some final thoughts with his followers prior to his arrest and execution. He’s been telling them that he won’t be around much longer and will soon be gone, but that at the end of time, when they’re facing how kind they’ve been to others and how they’ve cared for the most vulnerable, hungry, naked, sick, and imprisoned, they’ll be judged not by how successful they’ve been, but by how well they loved others. He’ll reveal that when they thought they were waiting on him to come back, they will learn that they have already encountered him in the world and didn’t even realize it. The righteous are confused. What? Where did we see you? When did we see you? When you fed people, clothed people, healed people, and looked people in the face and loved them and cared for them…when you did those things for the least of these, you did it to me. 

Now, as I was driving back from breakfast with Zoe and Olivier, I was feeling pretty good about myself. However…after a couple minutes, a troubling reality set in. I had encountered an incredible couple with an incredible story, but what about all the others that I hadn’t taken to breakfast after putting them up for the night? What about the individuals and families that had normal struggles and common hardships and didn’t seem as interesting or came to ask for assistance and support at moments where it wasn’t convenient? What about all the people that maybe did have stories and adventures that would have floored me, or had life experiences that I could have across from them and soak in their knowledge and wisdom, but I had just let them pass right by because of my own blindness, arrogance, or biases? I had caught a glimpse of God that day in two tired world travelers, but what it really showed me, was how many countless times I’d missed out, looked over, and passed by countless others and missed  more glimpses and opportunities that look like Jesus because I’d been a part of the effort to not make my life look like a reign of love, but look like selfishness and pride. I have had moments of love, but what does it look like to have a lifestyle and lifetime shaped around love where every person we meet is an opportunity to be amazed, interested, and beloved.