I had one Thursday morning.

Since I only had two hours to write before my daughter’s field trip, I decided to go to a coffee shop close to her school. It wasn’t my favorite coffee shop because the rooms weren’t conducive to quiet writing. Every room I entered had someone gabbing to a friend, loudly. I need complete silence to write well, even the over head music can be a distraction, so I opted for a chair across from a man reading quietly.

I pulled out my stuff, and he invited me to sit down. We exchanged some friendly words, and I noticed he had an accent. So I asked. He said he was from New York. I had a feeling! There was an instant connection and the two strangers became bonded and carried on a conversation that last about thirty minutes. I learned he was a talk show host with Liberty Talk and sang in a NY Duwop group years ago. I also learned that we probably had very different religious beliefs, but that didn’t stop the conversation. He asked about my writing and how I knew I could write. He couldn’t believe I choose to go to ORU over Syracuse. But somethings aren’t logical. He shared about his radio program and told me his name. I had another hunch he was Italian. He was. Which led into another discussion about Italians and bigotry and lack of tolerance among people.

I asked for his card and if I could call him when I needed to do some research on my next book where I may need the perspective of a talk show host. He said sure and that sparked another conversation how he wants to give what he knows away and how he can’t understand older people who sit around and do nothing. He took my card and then we talked about how people don’t really talk any more. Their conversations are meaningless. Maybe it’s a NY thing, but we both agreed we don’t like to talk about the weather or shoot the breeze. We ended the conversation by noting that we were no longer strangers, but friends.

I’m not sure why God brought two strangers together, but if I didn’t noticed the accent, I would have dove into my WIP and lost an opportunity to connect with another human being. Sure I lost an hour of writing (factoring in I’m writing this now) but I think it was worth it.

I’m usually guilty of crawling into my cocoon, especially in public, but I’m glad I poked my head out to meet Joe.

As you go through your day, your week, will you emerge from your safe cocoon to see who God might have you interact with? They might be totally out of your comfort zone, but God might want to set you up on that divine appointment.

Will you notice and answer the call?