I heard a story last week that moved me enough to want to share it.

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My brother–one with a diligent meditation practice but with the occasional doubt in his heart–is one of the most fabulous individuals on the face of the planet. On the eve of his thirty-fourth birthday  last week, he was having a languid afternoon. He gave himself the permission to blow off yoga, and decided he didn’t even want to attempt to go surfing, even though it was a stunning afternoon in Santa Cruz,  the air warm, the water glassy and calm. After succumbing to this torpor and lounging around the house for some time, an internal voice galvanized Matt to put his surfboard in his truck, even though he felt absolutely no desire to be active. With some resistance, he listened to that little voice, got into his truck, and drove twenty miles south to Manresa, a beach that is part of a state park.

When he arrived the waves were not fit for surfing. He sat in his car for a moment, thinking about turning around and leaving. A new sign caught his eye. He opened the door and stepped out of his truck to read it. Just then a teenage girl wearing black and with multiple piercings, approached him and asked if he had a phone she could use.

“Sure,” he said. She spent about ten minutes sitting on a curb, trying to call someone over and over, and not getting through. Eventually she handed him his cell phone, and he could detect that she was uneasy. 

“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked.

“Are you going back to santa Cruz?” 

“Sure,” he replied. “Do you need a ride?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Can you take me to the bus station?” Matt offered her almonds and water and found out that her Mom was supposed to pick her up at Manresa, but hadn’t shown up. Eventually the girl reached her mother who was in the middle of a drinking binge. 

“You’re an angel,” she told Matt when they arrived at the bus station. She sat for a moment before jumping out. 

“Do you need bus fare?” Matt asked. She nodded and he handed her some money.

“Thanks for everything,” she said. And before she jumped out, he said, “I’m Matt. What’s your name?”

“Faith,” she said, and with that she hopped out and disappeared into the bus station.

 

It gave my brother goose bumps and actually brought tears to my eyes when I heard it.

 

CIMG0519My brother, Matt

 

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