A reader writes:
I was backpacking about twenty five years ago through Portland, Oregon and stopped to ask directions from a woman putting up marquee letters on a Baptist church sign (some message about Jesus but it was just started so I don't know what she intended to write).
I was looking for directions to a hostel. She was there with her son (I think he was about seven) and said perhaps she could give me a ride, but she had to pray on it. She paused and quietly prayed and then said, no, she could not give me a ride. She did not know where the hostel was. Still, she was pleasant enough, if a bit weird. I thanked her for considering it.
I enjoyed the encounter for its unique strangeness, but I really did not want a ride, so I was secretly relieved. Did God answer my prayer or hers?