Harold Keller / L’Observateur / January 19, 2000

A few months ago, my good friend, Kim Lee, called and asked if I would visit a young man in jail. When I made the call, the young man seemed veryindifferent, and I felt like he thought he was doing me a favor by talking to me. I brushed off the visit and didn’t think about the young man again.In December, the young man contacted me about getting a DWI. I invitedhim to a Dec. 17 prayer meeting for men. The theme of the meeting was”Real Men Love Jesus.” To my surprise, he came.Last Friday, after our 6:15 a.m. weekly men’s Bible study at McDonald’s, afew of us were talking. In walks the same young man. He saw us talkingand interrupted us to say that he was going well. He shared that he evengot a $2.50 an hour raise. “That’s great!” I said. “Maybe we can have lunchone day and you’ll pay.” “How about today?” he asked, looking anxious tomeet. “OK,” I said, and asked where. “Meet me at the Holiday Inn at noon,”he answered.

We met as agreed, had a nice meal and, believe me, some deep discussions.

“How do you like your job?” I asked. “It’s OK,” he said, “but I hate myboss. He likes people to flatter him and I’m not that kind.” “It seems asthough you harbor a lot of resentment,” I said. “Yeah, I guess I do,” hereplied.

“When I walked in here today, I saw three state troopers,” he said. “One ofthem was the one that gave me the DWI. What a jerk! He not only gave me aDWI, but he treated me as if I was a criminal.” I laughed. “That’s what youare,” I said. “Driving while intoxicated is a crime.” He smiled.”Have you ever been married?” I asked. “Yes,” he answered. “I have a wifeand a son.” “Do you ever see them?” “No,” he replied. “I’d like to see myson, but not my wife. I’ll never forgive her.” I told him that we weretogether only 40 minutes and I found out he didn’t like many people. “I betyou don’t even like yourself,” I continued. “You could be right,” was hisanswer. “You know what you have to do,” I said. Before he could ask what,I told him that he had to pray for his boss, that state trooper, and his wife. “I’ll pray for two, but not my wife,” he answered, stubbornly. “Infact,” I said, “you should get the state trooper’s address and write him a letter, thanking him for arresting you.” He smiled and said, “I bet thatwould aggravate him.” “Maybe,” I continued, “but most importantly, it willmake you realize that he may have saved your life.”When we finished the meal, I asked if we could pray, and we did – for his boss, the state trooper, his wife, and his son. “You have to forgiveeveryone who has offended you, or God will not forgive you,” I said.

He picked up the tab. I gave him a hug, assured him that I loved him, andagreed to meet again soon.

Was our meeting in vain? Definitely not! God doesn’t arrange meetings like these to waste our time.

HAROLD KELLER is affiliated with the Get High on Life organization. He canbe contacted at P.O. Drawer U, Reserve, LA, 70084. His telephone number is(504) 652-8477.

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