Hey there, Guy in the Yellow Jeep in Front of Me at Starbucks,
You don’t know me. You don’t know the night I just lived through. You weren’t there through the dark parts, the scary parts, the frustration and the one hour of sleep.
You don’t know this season I’m in, where everything seems so fragile and I don’t feel like the smart girl, just the desperate girl who’s trying to negotiate some steep slopes in the Shadowlands.
You couldn’t possibly know that the longest night of my life ended in a morning of…no coffee. I’m never out of coffee. Except today. The one day I felt it really might be my only hope.
You had no way of knowing these things. And yet you chose this day to buy a stranger’s coffee in the car behind you. Maybe it’s the first time you ever paid it forward (backward?) Maybe you do random acts of kindness every day and you wonder if they ever really matter. I just want you to know that today, it mattered. On this very murky morning, it was like Jesus Himself bought my coffee .
So, thank you. You made a difference in someone’s life today and it’s not even noon. I hope I remember to do the same.
Bo
So wonderful…the coffee and the kindness.
If you’re looking for more random acts of kindness inspiration check out http://www.theredtricyclebrigade.com
They’re a kindness movement and also wonderful!
I think of you guys often and send prayers your way!!
Yep, this made me cry. Although I haven’t experienced it exactly like this, I have had Starbucks gift cards given to me while in hospital with Florence. It is amazing how coffee, generosity and Jesus are all intertwined.
I want to be the guy in the yellow jeep. Thanks so much for sharing and Thank You Jesus and Yellow Jeep guy for blessing Bo! Coffee is great, but even more the encouragement and sheer knowing that Bo is seen by the compassionate eye of our Lord!
This makes me cry in a good way. I wanna hug that guy. And I wanna hug you. And I’m thinking…maybe angels drive yellow jeeps.
Prayers, just one away each day of being answered. To bless you and find favor for you. He is so wonderful. The day we can hug him for all he has done will be a wonderful day to have coffee and a hug from Jesus.
Aunt Nellie and I are thinking about you this morning, asking the God of peace to hover you in a new way. We don’t always understand His ways but we know that His ways are perfect. We love you all so much and wish Gods best for you.
Uncle Robert
What sweet testimony to God’s hugs, even in our storms. Thanks for keeping it real. I’m challenged to keep paying it forward. You never know who God needs to hug today.
I agree with Vangi through my tears: I think maybe angels DO drive yellow jeeps, and that THE angel of the Lord Himself has your back. I, for one, and I know I speak for hundreds, am so humbled and down-to-the-gut thankful that you and Steve and your family have chosen to live your lives intentionally and publicly for the building up of all of us… and truly for the saving of many lives. Praying it forward, backward and all ways for you, sweet friend.
❤️
Dear Bo and Steve, yes I also am writing thru tears. I for one, hate suffering; and yet know that God does His best work at those times and in those places. He is so Good, that he uses the driver of a little yellow jeep to send His love in a tangible way. Thank you for not sugar coating the suffering, but for seeing Him and revealing Him in the midst of suffering. You are greatly loved
Ditto….to all the above comments. Tears. Warmed heart. Continued prayers for the Sterns, and for my awareness to be the “giver” when and where needed. Thank you, Bo.
I can’t even begin to put into words what this post did in my life yesterday. My family has been going through a rough 3.5 month ordeal with no end in sight. Not even close to what you have been going through but a struggle that needs an answer none the less and is creating huge burdens on our family. The first 1.5 months of the struggle God met us in so many ways and spoke so much comfort and wisdom and encouragement into our lives. When it came time for a crucial decision God gave us very clear and miraculous direction and told us to wait on him. It couldn’t have been clearer and the way the message was delivered could only have been from God. And then…nothing. Two months later we are still waiting and God seems to have disappeared. I can’t even begin to describe the struggle as I’ve not only grappled with our situation but also with a silent God. For the first time in my entire life I have no direction, no guidance, no sense of God’s presence in my life, only his last directive which was to wait. More than anything I just needed some reminder that we weren’t alone. That He still existed and He still cared about us but more silence…until yesterday. I read your post about your overnight struggle and when I got home I brought up your blog to listen to the song you posted with my husband (he is the worship leader at our church so I thought he would appreciate it). Before playing him the song I saw this post about God showing up and meeting you through a stranger who had no way of knowing what it was that he was doing, how he was ministering. And you know what? That was what I needed also. I could hardly listen to the song with my husband through my tears. No, God has not spoken to us yet about our situation but seeing Him show up in yours gave me the hope that I have been without for what feels like an eternity. Without knowing it you also paid it forward. That guy in the yellow jeep gave you coffee and God showed up for you but your sharing the story gave me hope,a renewed strength and a sense that God was showing up for me also. For that I am so grateful to the guy in the yellow jeep and to you.
You have paid it backwards, and it was us, years ago when we were very broken 😉 Bless you dear lady!