I thought this story was going to be about Robert but little did I know God had much more in store for me. I don’t know about you but how many times in a month can you brush things off with saying to yourself, “that must’ve been a coincidence.” When do you say, “It was meant to be God. I’m listening to You.”

The story starts in the gym locker room tonight. I was coming around the corner from taking a shower when suddenly I saw a gentleman in a wheelchair. The first thing I noticed was his legs. They were the color of that pink starburst and as puffy as puffy could be! My eyes were drawn up to his bright orange shirt and finally followed by his extra wide eyes that popped out of their sockets a bit. About 40, this grown man in his wheelchair looked as if he needed some help with his locker. I asked, “Excuse me sir, may I help you?” He kindly responded, “No. I think I’m okay.” Immediately, I remembered a video I made with my speaking partner Alex a few weeks ago. Alex had mentioned, “People need to know it’s okay to ask people like me with a disability if they can help us.” I was instantly taken back by how I had made the connection in real life with what Alex said. I thought this was going to be this evenings story but it didn’t end there.

Off to the sauna, I went and did my nightly reflection after my workout. I was thinking about this man. I stepped out of the hot room to get water from the drinking fountain and I briefly looked out the glass door into the pool area. There I saw one of the strong young men who worked at they gym helping the man out of his wheelchair into the pool. At that moment, I realized my blog tonight was going to be about this man and the connection I made with Alex’s video about helping others who have a disability. But God had something else in store.

30 minutes later, I was finishing up my workout and all of the sudden I saw this man again leaving just as I was. Yet this time, he had both hands on the wheels of his wheelchair and was pushing himself out towards the exit. Sure, if that was all I would’ve left him alone; however, he had the handles to his gym bag in between his teeth and was obviously struggling. He was moving slower than a snails pace and I felt the urge to ask this man again, “May I help you sir?”

Her murmured through his teeth around the gym bag handles with reluctancy, “I’m okay.” I asked his name, “Robert.” Then, I insisted again, “Robert, are you sure? I’m more than happy to help.” He replied with a uneasy tone, “I’m okay.” I stalled looking to sense a sign and started to walk ahead. At the exit door, I caught a glimpse of him coming my way so I held the door for him. About 20 seconds later, he came through and with a smile said, “God bless you.”

Walking to my car I repeatedly said to myself, “It was meant to be God. It was meant to be God. It was meant to be God.” I’ve been praying for a long time for God to speak to me in how I can help others because I’ve always known I’ve had some very special deep in me to help people. My prayers have changed to asking for His strength so I can listen to Him.

We all can learn a little about ourselves through being aware and helping others. This story was originally meant to be about inspiring you to be comfortable asking others with disabilities if you can help. Yet it became more. It turned into a call to action for us all to be vigilant of the signs and people God puts into our lives everyday. Truly, everything happens for a reason and God designs each day of our lives to happen for us not to us. Thank you God for speaking to me through Robert.

Related Post: Alex Levesque – “My Disability”