Tag! You're It!

A couple weeks ago I had the coolest experience. I was "tagged"! Okay, okay, let me explain...

I'm edging ever nearer to college, so naturally lately much of my time has been given up to thinking about what I want to do with my life. It's really a deep subject! So many possibilities, too. Biology, history, library science? There seems to be no end.

Well anyway, a couple weeks ago I had scheduled a late morning interview with the head librarian of the university at which my dad works. My appointment was at 10:30, and I was already going in to work at the  university cafeteria (I've told you about that before) at noon. So, my mom and I decided that I would just take a sack lunch and eat between the time when my interview ended and my work began. Fine.

After talking it over with my parents, I decided on a particular spot in which to execute my mid-day food consumption process (otherwise known in layman's terms as "lunch" ;D). I didn't realize until I arrived at this pre-selected location that it was located at the end of a busy hallway, in which students almost always came and went.

So with great interest I began eating, thoroughly enjoying my opportunity to observe a multitude of college students. Suddenly, a girl came up to me.

"Hi, my name is Angela*," she excitedly introduced herself. "May I pray with you?"

"Sure," I replied, knowing that I can never have too much prayer! I told her my name, and then,

"What can I pray for?" Angela inquired.

"That my work will go well." I briefly told her about my work at the cafe, and while the people that I work with are always super nice the shift can get long at times.

"Dear God," she prayed as we both bowed our heads, "thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to meet Photobug. Thank you for giving him a job at the cafe so he can earn money for college. Thank you for the wonderful people that he gets to work with. You know, Father, how long the shifts can get sometimes. Please give him the stamina and strength to do his job well, and help him be a blessing to others today."

"Amen!" we both concluded at the same time. As she left, Angela left me with a little card. What did it say, and what was it with this card that had prompted Angela, a complete stranger (albeit nice college student) to come up and pray with me? This was definitely worth checking out.

The card was about the size of a 4x6 photo, and had a drawing of some hands folded in prayer. The card said something about how we should never cease praying (a reference to 1 Thessalonians 5) and three easy steps written in the middle. The steps, to my recollection, went something like this:

1. Tag someone with this card

2. Pray with them

3. Give them this card, and have them repeat these steps

"Keep this card moving!" stared out at me, the words eating away at my courage. Sure, I'm a Christian and am all for praying with people, especially college students on a Christian campus. But God, I complained, I can't do this! You know what time it is (it was at least 11:20am or later), God! I gotta eat and bolt outta here, so I can be to work on time(which would be about 11:45am)! God, you want me to be to work on time, don't you?

(I should insert here that I was eating just a stone's throw away from the elevator, which would take me to the cafe.)

I looked at the card again. No contact info whatsoever. I knew that I couldn't do it, I mean, how funny would it look for me to be praying with one of my co-workers at the cafe?

And God, I continued, besides looking hideously funny, everyone there at the cafe is doing a job! They're on the time clock, not to mention me! We can't just stop like that for a moment of prayer! We have work to do! 


Besides, I'm not gonna meet hardly anyone between here and the elevator to the cafe!


If my memory serves me right, I think I threw in a promise to God that went something like this:

God, if you really want me to pass this card along and pray with somebody, you'll have to bring them to me. And give me the courage to do it. Amen.


I felt pretty smug with that. Who would come up and talk with me? After all, I'm just another not-even-yet college student. Two people had already come up and talked with me; what were the chances of there being more?

Several minutes elapsed, as I eagerly crunched and chewed my sandwich and thought about that prayer encounter.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Byon! What's your name?" A friendly-looking professor sat down to eat his lunch a few feet away from me.

"Hi, I'm Photobug!" Our talk ran quickly, as we introduced ourselves and I explained my almost-a-college student status. Since I was already wearing my bright green cafe uniform, our discussion shifted to me working at the cafe, and all the wonderful people that I have met there. But I could feel God prodding me.

Photobug, pray with him. If you don't, you'll just take that card home, and it'll haunt you every single time you see it.

I hesitated. Really? Pray with a religion professor?

You've got to be kidding, God.

But just at that moment, I saw an escape. One of Dr. Byon's students came up to him, and asked him a question about his class.

Wonderful, I thought. God, I can't interrupt this guy to pray with him! He's answering an important question that one of his students has!


They continued talking for quite a long time, as I continued eating the Chex Mix that my mother had given me. I changed my attitude slightly. God, I tried! I argued without much belief in my words. I really was about to pray with him, but now I can't. Oh well God, I tried! Smugly I tried to think that I had really tried, although I knew that I hadn't. However, the good side of my brain won and I decided that if anyone else happened to engage me in conversation (like that was really going to happen), I would be more courageous and really pray with them.

The seconds on my watch continued to race faster than ever. It was almost time for me to go to work, and I hadn't prayed with anyone. Oh well, God, I started to say...

But then--

"Photobug!"

A college student excitedly came at me.

"How are ya, Photobug?"

"Bob?" I questioned, hesitant to think that it might be my former co-worker from the cafe.

"Yep, that's me!"

We chatted for a few minutes, and then I knew that it was now or never. God was giving me way too much evidence to ignore!

"So Bob! You having a good day?"

I wanted to test the waters, per se, to see how Bob was doing. Then I could know what to pray for.

"Hey Bob! Can I pray with you?

"You sure can," he replied in the affirmative.

"Dear God," I prayer, both of our heads bowed, "Thank you so much for letting me run into Bob today. Thank you so much that he is having a good day today. Please bless him in all that he does today, and help Your light to shine through him. Amen."

Before we happily parted ways, I gave him that card. "And Bob, I thought you might like to have this card..." I smiled. Who knew how many people could be blessed that day, or how many prayers said, and started by just that one card?

I'm sure you see the point of this story by now. Pray to God for courage, and go out and do something bold for Him today!

*: Names have been changed