Two Cars on the Road

For the last three summers, I have commuted every morning to a nearby city for work. The drive is about 45 minutes, so I would constantly update my playlists and find new audiobooks to listen to for my daily commutes to and from work. I’ll admit that some days I did not want to be in my car that long, but it was a great time to just pray and spend time with Jesus. I do a lot of thinking while I drive. I dream a lot of dreams. I try to envision what I may do with my life or think about the goals I have for myself. I address the parts of myself that I keep hidden from others, the things I am ashamed of. I bring them to Jesus. I look them in the eyes. I give them a name. I invite Him into it. It’s a time to usher in healing and peace that only God can provide.

One summer morning in 2018, I remember having a realization: I pass this same car every morning. I have no idea what the make or model is; I just know I see this same car every single morning. I don’t pay much attention to other cars when I’m driving, but I started paying more attention because I was taking the same road to work every day. I was noticing things on that route that I usually ignore. I began to give a lot of attention to this car and saw it was a woman. Some mornings she was on the phone. She always had glasses on. Her hair fell to her shoulders. She looked like she was in her mid 30’s.

As weird as this sounds, I started thinking about her. I wondered what her name was; I wondered if she was driving to work or maybe to drop kids off at daycare, I wondered who she was talking to on the phone most mornings. I wondered if she was happy with herself and her life, if the destination she was driving to every morning brought her sincere joy and fulfillment. Every morning, I would get excited knowing I was going to pass her car on the road. And it never failed, around 7:45 AM, there she would be. I know, it’s so silly, but I talked to God about her. I would pray that she had a great day. I prayed over her family and her heart.

In the fall of 2018, I went back to school, but I remember that I came back home for my fall break in October, and I worked that whole week. So there I was, months later, back on the road for my 45-minute commute, and at 7:45, she was still meeting me on the road. This happened in the summer of 2019, too, every single morning. At this point, I was still praying over this woman who was a total stranger to me, who probably didn’t even pay attention to me and my red car on that morning drive.

And then this summer, something was different. I didn’t work nearly as much as I did in the previous summers, mainly due to getting sick with COVID, and I noticed that I wasn’t seeing that woman and her car. I’m not going to lie; I was so sad. I am a pretty dramatic person and a little too invested in things, and I get caught up in feelings, but I missed when we would meet halfway every morning. I wondered if she was doing okay or if she quit her job. I prayed for her even more just from her absence each morning.

Last month, I was coming home from college on a Friday afternoon, and I got onto the highway that would take me right to my house, and I couldn’t believe it. It was the car, the same make and model, but I couldn’t tell if it was her or not because I hadn’t anticipated seeing her, so I wasn’t full focused on who was in the car. In all honesty, it may not have been her, but it was the same car, and it was the same road where we would pass each other. I got excited anyway, and I prayed for her again. It happened again on another weekend when I came home a few weeks later. The same road. The same model and car. Yet again, I couldn’t tell if it was her or not. But I uttered out a prayer to this stranger like I had been doing for years.

You might be wondering what the point of this blog post is. I just wonder who prays for us without us ever knowing. I wonder if I ever cross someone’s mind. I wonder if a stranger who maybe sees me often but doesn’t know my name has ever mentioned me to God. I prayed for that woman because I didn’t know what she may be going through, but maybe she needs it. Perhaps she’s not strong enough on her own, and she doesn’t have a support system praying for her. Maybe God put her on my heart because she needs strength. I want to believe that maybe someone would return the favor and pray for me too, because trust me when I say I’d gladly take the extra prayers.

You never know who may be thinking about you, praying for you, and standing in agreement with you on things you’re believing for. I encourage you: if you see people often, even if you don’t know their names—maybe you work in the same building or you find yourselves at the grocery store at the same time every week—whoever they are, say a quick prayer for them every time you see them. You just don’t know what may be happening in their life. Your prayers have power, and they make a huge difference. Don’t waste the gift you have to be a help to someone else.