After I boarded the Hertz shuttle bus, running late as usual, a lady ran up, dragging her luggage, out of breath. The driver, with a face that told me she has seen more than I could ever imagine, reached out to pick up one of the bags to help put it in place for the ride to the terminal.
As she secured the bag, she turned her head towards the woman, “I hope you are ok.”
“Yes, although I am very late.”
“How late are you?”
I looked at my watch and noticed that it was getting close to 10 pm.
“My flight leaves at 10.30.”
The driver and I exchanged glances. There was little chance that this lady was going to make her flight.
On a clear night, I turned towards her and said, “I hope everything is running as late as it normally does.”
The driver returned to her chair and offered all of us some advice. “Hold on, we have a plane to make.”
I had no idea that a full size Hertz passenger bus could do what this woman could make it do. It handled the corner with the grace of an oversized ballet dancer! Just which you thought it could not handle the twists and turns, it did. There was power at the end of the accelerator pedal. As if the angels were watching, willing to do their part, every light was green. Less than 10 minutes later we were at the stop for the lady’s airlines.
“I hope you make your flight. God be with you.”
I knew that God already was. Even as I let the scene imprint itself in my memories, I imagined that I had heard the lady’s prayer when she got on the bus, “God, give grace, get me up on my feet. I’ll show them a thing or two.” (Psalm 41.10) I also knew that I had seen answer play out to the heart of the request and commitment.
This night, one person got what she needed most. In being there, so did I, hope.
