The Lord upholdeth all that fall and raises up all those who are bowed down. Psalm 145:14

I was  hurrying through  Costco to get the last few items I needed before we headed home. The store wasn’t  crowded for a change so I took my time pushing the cart down the aisle.  I didn’t see the elderly man until he stopped right in front of me. He wore a baseball cap imprinted with a veterans’ logo and decorated with several pins, a worn, zip up jacket, baggy jeans and   a wooden cross around his neck. The cross was identical to ones a Lutheran friend gave me which I’ve always hung from the mirror inside  my car. Where did this man get the cross? Was there a Lutheran Christian store somewhere selling them? “I like your cross,” I said to the man.

He gave me a friendly smile. “Are you a Jesus believer?” he asked. Well,  that got right to the point., didn’t it. No Costco chit chat here in this aisle. I told him, Yes, I was a Jesus believer and  waited for him to say more. He took an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to me.  Are you familiar with …..    and  he named a well know Christian magazine. I told him I’d often read stories in that magazine  although it had been some time since I saw one. He told me his story.  He wrote an article for the magazine but  they sent him  a rejection letter because he didn’t  give  enough details about his life. “I wasn’t writing about myself,” he said. “I was writing about Jesus. Would you like to read it?” I would indeed. He left, I finished shopping and found Dan and the car. I couldn’t wait to read my Costco friend’s article.

There’s a cover letter dated two years ago giving  his name, address and phone number. His name is Virgil and he explains that he’s describing an event from forty years ago. There’s a very brief history of family, a military profession and the background of what happened. The bulk of the article is a vision of Jesus in which Virgil describes in beautiful, touching  details the One he saw.  The One he was testifying about. I don’t have his permission to include it all in my blog but I can add his postscript.

“I am eighty three years old. Despite heartache, disappointment and all the enemy has thrown at me, Jesus has held me up and kept me from falling and He will do the same for all who trust and obey Him. Reader, Jesus loves and cares for you.” He ends with Psalm 145.

That  magazine lost a gem of a story and  powerful testimony  about Jesus. But the power of God is such that He will never waste anything He has intended. Virgil’s story is God’s story  which  I’m honored to pass in part to you. I’m convinced Virgil continues to ask Costco shoppers (and I imagine everyone he meets) Are you a Jesus believer? Thank you for asking me. It was the best shopping experience  I’ve ever had.