I was so tired of walking the mall from store to store. I just wanted to sit down and wait for the girls. I saw a bench with an old man sitting there and he smiled as I walked over to sit down. I smiled back. He looked safe.

As I sat down he looked at me and said, “Do you believe it fate?”

I must have looked stupid as I looked at him. “Ya, I guess, why do you ask?”

He chuckled. “Well, I believe there is a reason you sat here next to me. I believe my Lord brought you here.”

Oh my, I was sitting next to one of those Jesus freaks. I could not think of anything to say so I just sat still and hoped he would say no more. How wrong I was on that.

He said, “Does that bother you? Well, I am an old man who will be going home soon. I feel that I should share my bit of wisdom with you. You see, I was once like you didn’t want to hear about any religion. You may wonder how I know that, I saw it on your face when I mentioned my Lord. You are a young lady and Lord willing have a lot of living to do and how you do it is so important. One can move from one thing to another looking for happiness but you will never really be happy until you come to know Jesus. He is your Savior. He loved you so much that he went to the cross to die for you. If you were the only person in the world He would have died for you. That is love! Will having Him in your life be the answer to all your problems? No, but He will always be with you and never leave you. You will have trials and pain but with Him you can make it through them. Without Him there is nothing to fill that void inside you. I know I am preaching to you but I felt led to tell you that Jesus loves you and wants you to take what He so freely is giving.”

I sat perfectly still and knew what this old man said was true. For so long I have felt so empty. The parties were getting old. I was tired of seeing people make fools of themselves and not remembering in the next day. I did that and it was a no way road. I turned to look at this gentleman. He was looking at me with a smile. He knew. He knew how I felt. But, how do you make Jesus your Savior? I so wanted to ask him but was afraid and not sure what I was afraid of.

The old man took her hand and asked her, “Do you want to make Jesus your Lord? Just ask Him to come into your heart. He knows all you have done and forgives all your sins. He loves you and wants you to accept Him as Lord.”

Tears ran down my face as I said, “Oh yes, I do. I want Jesus in my life and I want to give myself to him. Jesus, please come into my heart.” I felt a peace fill me. I could not understand it but I felt different.

The old man was smiling widely now and praising God. “You are now a child of God. Read His Word in the Bible and ask Him to guide you. He will never let you down.”

My friends came over to where we sat and looked at me, like what are you doing with this old man? But now was not the time to explain what had just happened. The time would come but not now. I turned to say thank you to the old man. He said, “The angels are rejoicing in heaven for you are a child of the King of Kings.”

I got up to leave and said good-by. I did not even know his name but I know I do believe in fate.

Sharon Niese