Meet DAVID

I wasn’t supposed to meet David.

In fact, I wasn’t even supposed to still be in that city.

The day before, I was in an airport trying not to pass out. Sick. Weak. Frustrated. My flight boarded without me. My plans changed without my permission.

I rebooked my flight to the next afternoon and took a shuttle to a nearby hotel.

I woke up feeling much better. Not perfect. But better. So with a few hours before I needed to return to the airport, I took an Uber downtown.

That’s where I saw him.

David was wrapped in a blanket in a wheelchair on a busy sidewalk. A handwritten sign: “Freezing. Hungry. Please help us.”

Beside him sat his beautiful dog in an orange coat.

I stopped.

We talked. (David, not the dog.)

I told him about the Kindness Card Movement. I handed him cards — several days’ worth — and explained that people all over the country quietly fund moments like this. Not just cards for later.

But help right now.

Then I asked something simple.

“Are you hungry right now?”

He didn’t hesitate.

“Yes,” he said. “I’m so hungry.”

“If you could have anything at all,” I asked, “what would it be?”

His eyes widened.

“Popeyes.”

He quickly added, “I’ll take anything.”

But I insisted. What would truly feed him now — and his wife later?

It took some convincing, but he eventually told me exactly what he wanted. Enough for now. Enough to share.

So I walked to Popeyes and ordered every single item he mentioned.

When I came back, something happened I won’t forget.

Before he took a bite.

Before he thanked me.

Before he opened anything for himself.

He fed his dog.

First.

He gently broke off pieces of chicken. Talked to him softly. Made sure his dog named “Dog” was taken care of.

Then David looked at me and said something that rearranged my perspective.

“I pray every morning,” he said, “that God puts people in my path who I can help.”

Let that sink in.

He wasn’t praying for rescue.

He was praying for opportunity.

David, wrapped in a blanket on a freezing sidewalk, was asking God to send him someone he could serve.

And somehow, I was the one who felt blessed.

If I hadn’t gotten sick…

If I had boarded that flight…

If my plans hadn’t changed…

I never would have met him.

Sometimes the miracle isn’t the open door.

Sometimes it’s the closed one.

I thought I was downtown to give.

But maybe I was there to receive.

To those who stand behind these moments, includiing my Leadership Circle who provide funds in addition to cards themselves — thank you.

You may never meet David.

But you were the answer to his prayer.

And somehow?

He became the answer to mine.