thursday

Back in october of 2006, I met a man named cornelius. I met him at the time that my mom and my sister were in town visiting.

It was a saturday afternoon and we were just coming back from an outing to some south Florida attraction, probably Butterfly World. As we drove south on I-95, I told my sister to get off at Hallendale Beach Boulevard because the traffic wasn’t as bad on that road as it was on Ive’s Dairy Road. When she got off of I-95 and pulled up to the traffic signal of the exit ramp, I saw a man in a wheelchair on the side of the road, panhandling. At the time, I remember thinking, “I wish I could do something for this guy”, but I wasn’t driving, my sister was. The light turned green and we went on our way and I made a mental note to drive by that way again the next day after church.

The next day, after serving at “the refuge” (the church for homeless and poor), I got off I-95 at Hallendale Beach Boulevard just as I had planned to do the day before. When I pulled up to the traffic signal, the man in the wheelchair was there again. I knew this was a divine appointment made by God. I don’t believe in coincidences anymore. As I sat at the traffic signal waiting, I decided to buy the man a meal. The light turned green and I turned the corner and went right to the drive-thru at Wendy’s and bought the burger meal with a sprite and then quickly found a place to park. I was so excited to meet the man in the wheelchair!

I parked at the gas station across the street from Wendy’s and got out of the car. I had to walk back to the exit ramp of I-95 where I had seen the man in the wheelchair. By the time I had bought the meal and parked, he was actually rolling in my direction. I boldly approached him and strangely, I had no fear, which is unusual for me. When I got to him, I said, “excuse me sir, I have a meal for you.” He looked up at me and seemed surprised. He thanked me and asked me if he could sing me a song. Of course I said yes. And then he broke out into a sweet song of redemption, of how Jesus washes away our sin. It was a song I had never heard before and it was beautiful.

After he was done singing his song, I introduced myself and he introduced himself. His name is Cornelius. I told him I was happy to meet him and then we had a conversation. I asked him about his song and he told me he and his brothers and sisters sang at their church when they were kids. And then he told me how he had broken his neck and the doctors told him he would be like Christopher Reeves, but in the 2 years since his accident, he had regained the use of his arms and he was determined to walk again.
And I told him it’s not up to doctors to determine his outcome, only God knows his outcome. He agreed with me wholeheartedly.

I asked him where he was staying and he told me he was staying in the woods near I-95. I looked around and wondered what woods he was speaking of. There were only a few trees nearby. He told me that every thursday, the church down the road has a service and then has a dinner. I think it was the only food he got regularly. And despite his own needs, he would give you what little money he had. He gave a dollar to a woman in a car who was desperate for gas.

Before I left him, I asked him if I could pray for him and he said yes. So I asked God to watch out for him and keep him safe. I told him goodbye and I would look for him again and went back to my car and drove home. I felt honored to have met him and was extremely happy for the rest of that day.

Over the next three months, I drove by that spot regularly, but I didn’t see Cornelius. He just wasn’t there. It was as if he dropped off the planet. I started to think that maybe he wasn’t actually human, maybe he was really an angel sent by God to test me. God sends angels to test people and speak to people very frequently in the Bible. Just about the time I was going to voice this theory out loud to one of my friends, who should I run into?

This past sunday, I was coming home from “the refuge” again and I saw Cornelius at the Hallendale Beach Boulevard exit of I-95! I was immediately happy and I thanked God for bringing him back. The crazy thing was, I almost kept going home! But then I thought there was no way I could just keep driving. I mean, here’s a guy I haven’t seen in three months and I remember his name when, for the most part, I can’t remember anybody’s name until I’ve known them well for three months!

I went to Wendy’s again and bought Cornelius a meal. I parked my car in their lot and walked to the exit. I called his name and he spun around in surprise and came over to me. I told him hello and how happy I was to see him and I gave him the meal. We walked away from the exit and he told me he didn’t remember me. I told him that’s okay, it didn’t matter to me. Then he demonstrated his ability to walk! God has been totally healing him! He broke his neck 2 years ago and has just been determined to get well.

After his demonstration, I asked him where he had been. Turns out he had gone home to visit his family in South Carolina. They sent him money for a bus ticket. I asked him why he didn’t stay and he said, “because I like Florida.” His sisters gave him a silver dog tag to wear in case anything happens to him, they can be notified because their phone numbers are on the tag.

Cornelius is 54 years old and has been living on the streets since he was 18 years old. He can’t read. He sang for me again to thank me for the meal I gave him and he just seems to have a heart of gold. I invited him to “the refuge” and he accepted. I don’t know if he will remember the invitation because he smelled of alcohol and he did tell me he is a drinker. I prayed for him again and on my way home, I prayed for God’s will. If God wants me to take him to “the refuge”, I asked Him to make Cornelius call me. If He doesn’t want me to take Cornelius, I asked Him to make him not call me. Either way, I know this will turn out the way God wants it to because He is sovereign.

I am so thankful to God for changing my heart and showing me what true mercy really looks like. Before Christ, I thought I knew what it was. I was so wrong.

1 John 3:16-19 (New King James Version)
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. 19 And by this we know[a] that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.