I had just exited the doctor’s office on the ground floor of the medical office building when a rather large man in a wheel chair was peddling backwards in a straight line, directly center of the bi-folding vestibule doors. I quickly caught up to him.

He never looked to the left or right as he slowly traveled. He paused in the vestibule to catch his breath. That’s when I said, “How is it you can move backwards in such a straight line without a mirror?”. “Plenty of practice”, he responded with a chuckle. That’s when I noticed he was on oxygen and had a difficult time breathing. I understand this all too well, as I grew up with asthma, as did my children. My dad died of chronic lung disease due to smoking for over forty-years. COPD.

So, I stopped and talked with this man…he black and me white…made no difference. He said he never smoked a day in his life, but lived in households all his life where smoking was constant…a second-hand-smoke victim. We chatted some more about various things, blocking the center of the vestibule as people came and went for over twenty minutes. They didn’t seem to care, nor did we.

I felt inspired to share with him a book I had just read which might encourage him. When I began to suggest this book he told me he never learned how to read. Without skipping a beat he said he followed sports to the extreme. We then talked about American football and the Kansas City Chief’s upcoming game with the New England Patriots, last years champs. He said KC will blow them away. I said I hoped so, although I knew it would be a tough game. We bumped fists and then wished each other our sincerest blessings. He continued to smile and wave as I walked toward my car.

That night the Patriots and Chief’s were almost tied at half time. The third quarter saw both teams put up a few points on the board. Then the fourth quarter came and KC blasted New England with three unanswered touchdowns and won 42 to 27.

That’s when I knew I was in the presence of a prophet, and had made a new friend !