On Thursday, I had forgotten my folding chairs at work, so yesterday, I thought about taking one with me on my lunch, just in case Lee was somewhere sitting in the shade, I’d be able to join him, so when I clocked out, I grabbed a chair, headed outside, and asked Holy Spirit where to walk and listened.

On the path He took me down, I ran into my friend, Jose, whom I haven’t seen in weeks. We stopped to chat. I told him, “I think you met my friend, Anna​. She plays the guitar.” He said, “Oh, yeah! She’s really good!” He asked where I had been, and I explained that I follow Holy Spirit’s lead, so it always changes. He liked that and moved on.

As I neared the area of the statues, I saw Lee: sitting in his chair in the shade reading his book. It was so nice to see him so relaxed. (Of course, I forgot to take a picture, but I’m sure one’s been created in your mind.) I sat down to join him.

He was already reading the second book I lent him, which is a sad reality one but really good (“Enrique’s Journey”). We started talking about life, and somehow, we entered a conversation about the mountains. He spoke of his love for them and asked me if I had ever been to the mountains. As I remembered, I began to cry.

I warned him that remembering at that moment was bringing tears…asked if he could handle it. He smiled. Big Bear: my family spent a lot of time there. We owned a cabin. That place is filled with wonderful memories for me, and as I spoke of them, I couldn’t hold back the tears, so I didn’t. Actually, it’s where my father died, and I’ve always wanted to take the kids there but haven’t yet, so Lee assumed the reason why and assumed wrong.

He said, “I bet you have a lot of good memories there. Don’t let the bad ones keep you from going back.” I explained to him one of the reasons why I haven’t gone was because I wasn’t sure if my car would make it. He said, “What kind of car do you have?” I said, “Honda.” He said, “Traitor!” and smiled.

It turns out, Lee loves American made automobiles and believes in supporting America by buying them. He wasn’t mad. He was smiling the whole time, but our conversation went deep into cars. That man loves everything about cars and can tell you anything you want to know. Even though I kept yawning (because I was so relaxed), it was one of the neatest conversations, but at the same time, it was like listening to another language because I knew so little about cars. Again, my time ended, so I rose to leave, and he rose with me.

He walked me to the sidewalk because he wanted to share with me a dream about angels that he had had once. He knows God is present. He believes in angels. I don’t totally understand why our friendship’s been made. I feel like, even though I’m not praying when I’m with him, God is moving through the atmosphere. He’s doing something. It’ll be interesting to see the outcome. Life has so many lessons, so many moments of unspoken love, so many dreams about to be fulfilled. Life is so worth living through God’s heart. I’m thankful for this chance to live mine.