Yesterday, I met with a good friend named Rob.  We get together each week for lunch.  Rob is in my small group and whenever we meet I always come away encouraged.  I’d sure hope he’d say the same.  I think he would.

So, yesterday was our scheduled lunch “man-date” and since I had exactly 5 1-dollar bills in my wallet, I suggested meeting at Costco for the cheapest lunch in town–a buck 57 for a huge hotdog and a drink.

We got our lunch, found a table and sat down.  We bowed our heads and I thanked God for our friendship, for our wives and kids, asked God to bless them with a great day, thanked Him for all-beef hotdogs, and told Him we love Him.  Amen.

Not a minute after I finished praying, I saw a man moving toward our table.  He got close to us, leaned down and said, “Thank for your testimony.”  Apparently he had seen us praying.  Have you ever wanted to say something but were too stunned by what you just heard that your brain couldn’t process it all fast enough?  Before I could engage my mouth with something intelligent; something besides “Uh, thanks”, he walked off.

I was thrown.  That might sound weird, but I honestly took several seconds to get my mind back in gear to continue the conversation with Rob.  I’m pretty sure I literally stumbled with my words for a minute or so.  I’ve never been thanked or acknowledged for praying before.  And I’ve certainly never been thanked “for my testimony” like that before.

And quite honestly I’m not sure that I would have responded to the stranger any differently even if I could somehow have known what was coming.  I mean, what do you say to someone who appears out of the blue, thanks you for your testimony (of praying in Costco), and disappears into the crowd?  I’m not sure you say anything.

But it got me thinking about what a testimony is.  Everyone has one.  I believe that every person on earth–past, present, and future–has a testimony.  Everyone has a story that they are telling every day of their lives.  Some are amazing to watch, some are honestly painful to watch.  Some are dripping with adventure, and some with paralyzing fear.  Some take every moment as a gift, and some take every moment as a right due them.  Some live serving, some live taking, and some live lives that seem to want neither.  Some live bold lives that come off as obnoxious and preachy.  Some live quiet lives that are somehow just as bold.  Some live for God and others while others live for themselves.  Some live right, and some live wrong.  But ALL of them tell a story.

That man who I’ll likely never see again played a part in my life yesterday.  He reminded me that even in the smallest of moments, like bowing your head over a Costco hotdog, is a moment of significance for someone else.