I had gone to the mall for a job interview. I spotted a man
pushing a broom when I entered and I figured he must know where the main office
is located. He was very pleasant and appeared to know a lot about this mall.
During my interview for a management position I mentioned
the nice man I encountered pushing the broom. Guess I thought I would put in a
good word for him since he showed kindness to me. After I described him they
smiled and said, “ Oh that’s Jeff, he owns this mall. That is one of the ways
he gets to talk with the customers.”
I was hired as a manager of that mall.
After that Jeff and I kept bumping in to each other. He was
always cordial and we would have friendly albeit brief conversations. Several
months went by and then I learned that Jeff had sold this mall for something
around $29,000,000. Shortly after this the new owners gave me an envelope to
deliver to Jeff’s home.
I wasn’t surprised to find that his home was a mansion right
on the water but I was surprised when I pressed the front door bell and it was
Jeff who opened the door. He greeted me warmly and invited me into his home. He
opened the envelope and told me that it was a sizeable check representing his part
of the commission of the sale of the mall. He or someone in his family was a
licensed real estate broker. Then he shared with me that his family foundation
was inundated by requests for money. He said he was really looking “to find
something to give to that is making a difference.” Since I didn’t immediately respond he said,
“If you run into any, let me know.” I said I would.
A couple of years went by and I was going down a back road
near the coast when I see a guy standing by his car on the side of the road. It
is Jeff. He has run out of gas and I offer to take him to the nearest filling
station. It turns out to be some distance before we reach a station. We
chat.
I ask him if he is still looking for an organization to give
to that is making a difference. He asks what I have in mind? I tell him about a
new organization called Gifts From God, which is feeding the hungry and helping families needing furniture or
providing a car free to struggling single moms. By the time we are back to his
car with a can of gasoline he has agreed to come to my office and meet with
Mike Butterfield, the president of Gifts from God. From that meeting came a
much needed seed grant from Jeff’s family foundation.
A year later I am driving on Laurel Road in Venice and I am
rounding a curve and there is Jeff standing by his car on the side of the road.
Yep! He was out of gas again. .
“You have come to my rescue again, it must be time for
another grant to Gifts From God,” he grins.
It was. Mike had called me a few days ago with a bleak
financial report and said we need another grant from Jeff’s foundation. And
here God puts Jeff and I together again. Who else could orchestrate such timely
chance meetings like this?
We received the second grant which I call truly a gift from God.
Lloyd Keith
Osprey, Florida
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