Meet Johnny

I met Johnny on a morning when nothing was going according to plan. I was running late and needing a caffeine fix. I’d missed the McDonald’s entry, couldn’t switch lanes in time for Chick‑fil‑A, and even sailed past Wendy’s. I found myself talking to God out loud: “Okay, where am I supposed to get a drink now?” After 12 years of living in Greenville, I had never once pulled into a Hardee’s, but on that day, that’s exactly where I ended up.

At the back of the parking lot sat a man. The moment I saw him, I knew that he was the reason I was there. I pulled my car over, rolled down the window, and without thinking, blurted out, “What size are you?”

Johnny looked at me like I might have lost my mind, but he quietly answered, “Medium.” I checked the tag on the single backpack I had with me — Men’s Medium.

That bag could have been a women’s medium, women’s large, men’s large, or men’s medium. The odds of having the exact size he needed were slim. It was no coincidence.

I got out of the car, introduced myself, told him about H.U.G.S. from the Heart, and handed him the backpack. The reaction was immediate. Johnny started crying, and so did I. We stood there in that Hardee’s parking lot, two strangers brought together by something far bigger than chance.

I prayed with Johnny before I left — still without my caffeine — but with absolute confidence that God had placed me exactly where I needed to be. He used my selfish search for a drink to carry out His plan.