The elderly couple on the Naples pier (my mission station) were Orthodox Jews. The encounter went like this:
At the far end of the pier is a shelter consisting of two walls and a roof maybe fourteen feet square. It stands on a bigger platform that is surrounded by a railing for people to fish from. Inside the shelter are two benches, one on the sides of each of the walls. I often go out there seeking conversation and, hopefully, a fish or two.
I had hardly been there twenty minutes when the elderly couple showed up and sat on the opposing bench across from me. The woman had her arm in a sling; and, impulsively, I asked what had happened to her arm. She replied that she had fractured her shoulder in a tripping incident. After the man made sure his wife was comfortable, he came over to me, noticing my cap that has “Writer” emblazoned on it. I wear caps with different captions, Film maker, Writer and Artiste to garner attention from those interested in the arts – it works well.
Stanley thanked me for inquiring about his wife, telling me that people seldom did that anymore. I agreed by saying, “It seems that people have become cold and are afraid to talk to each other anymore.”
“You can say that again,” he replied. “Let me introduce myself; my name is Stanley, and my wife’s name is Carol. We were at a huge party where several high-profile people were gathered when my wife tripped over the huge family dog – fracturing her shoulder.”
He let it be known that these prominent people were with Google and other such tech giants, but that he couldn’t divulge names. I was wondering how he came to be attending such an affair and asked him what he did for a living; he said he was an educator. I never doubted him for a moment since he was a well-spoken and intelligent man.
His wife, having excellent hearing, heard me question her husband and asked me, “What do you do?” I told her that I was a movie actor/writer. By this time, I had taken my “Writer” cap off as it was warm and humid.” They were impressed.
Stanley and I talked about movies a bit but soon moved onto other more important things.
He told me he was an avid reader, and I told him I was too. We began to bond after I told him of my Christian faith. He even went so far as to mention he had once entered a celebrated church to view the inside. He was a very inquisitive man who apparently spent time with other intellectuals, one of which was a psychologist who told him a story about a client who appeared to have experienced previous lives after he had hypnotized her. I asked him if he believed in God, to which he answered he wasn’t sure if God existed. At this point, I mentioned that Lucifer, an angel of God, had been cast from heaven to earth and had taken a third of the angels with him. This fallen angel has information on everybody and is the father of lies, and was probably speaking through that woman. He had never considered that this might be the case.
I could see that he was thinking deeper thoughts; and, finally, he proceeded to tell me about having researched Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. From this, I deduced he might be a “seeker of truth.”
I began to inject things about Jesus into our conversation and that all the Apostles were Jews except maybe for Luke, whom most scholars consider having been a Greek Doctor of Medicine.
As we continued to talk, he attempted to try and stump me. At this, I told him I had been a Christian for over forty years and knew the Old Testament and the New Testament well. I mentioned the prophecies of Daniel and Jesus and told him that according to their prophecies we were living in the last days. He agreed that these were very strange times.
In any case, I parried any objections he might have had with the inerrant truth of God’s Word.
Knowing that many secular Jews just like Gentiles are driven by worldly success and are impressed by it, I also knew that there were many “seekers” out there as well, because I once had a ministry in a coffee shop where many Jews congregated, drank coffee and kibitzed throughout the day and night. It was there and then that I got to know many Jews and Gentiles as well; and even though I was always ministering the Word of God to them, they liked me and enjoyed the discourses we had.
Still, though, I had never met anyone so engaging and Religious as Stanley. He was a true “Seeker.” Stanley asked about my writing and even went so far as to giving me his Email address before they left so that I could send my testimony to him in the form of a 240-page bio I’d written.
Before leaving them at the entranceway, I asked Carol if she would like for me to say a prayer for her. She replied, “Please do.” And I did so while many others milled around us as they left the pier for the day.
I sent out the manuscript this morning (Labor Day), saying that our meeting was God-ordained. He wrote back this Labor Day evening saying;
Jim:
I feel likewise. Ran in to a Messianic Jewish couple in Rural King in Bonita. Conversation started the same way about Carol’s injury. You are all good people, because you genuinely care about others. Please give me a few days to read. Once again, you were an important person in our day yesterday.
Stanley
YBIC
Jim Towers
You can write me at jt.filmmaker@yahoo.com or visit me at www.dropzonedelta.com and at my web site www.propheticsignsandwonders.com ……Hang tough and look up.