An Arizona teen gives shoes off his feet to a struggling stranger and it shows exactly what happens when we listen to a quiet nudge from God.
Jordan Hope is an 18-year-old recent high school graduate who runs a computer building business in Pinal County. He was driving to the bank in Maricopa to deposit some money when he passed a local Walgreens. He spotted an older man named Mister Roy walking in the parking lot. Roy has a medical condition that causes severe leg swelling and his worn out shoes were barely hanging onto his feet.
Jordan pulled his car over without hesitation. “I looked at his feet and his shoes were like maybe a fourth on his foot” Jordan explained. “I just felt like God told me to go over there turn around and just give him some new slides. So I took off my own shoes. I gave them to him and I just felt like I brought maybe a peace in his life.”
Most of us drive right past people when we are busy running our own errands. He actually stopped his day and obeyed God’s voice.
A bystander named Yareli Madrid filmed the viral act of kindness and posted it online noting that Jordan helped without cameras or expecting praise.
Jordan had no idea anyone was watching him. After he drove away he felt something tell him to turn back. He found Roy inside the store trying to buy candy so Jordan bought it for him. That is when Jordan learned that Roy was grieving because his wife had died just two weeks earlier.
“That honestly broke my heart” Jordan said. “I just think he needed a friend. It’s hard asking for help sometimes. And I’m just glad that God brought me there in that moment to just show my light on other people.”
Jordan offered to buy him lunch at Culver’s. Because Roy had trouble getting into Jordan’s car due to his leg swelling, Jordan called him a rideshare and met him at the restaurant. After they picked up the food Jordan followed Roy home and stayed a while to talk. “So he didn’t feel that loneliness you know?” Jordan said.
They have stayed close and talk on the phone every day now. A GoFundMe page for Roy has already raised over $15,000 for groceries and bills.
When people ask why he stopped, Jordan credits his parents his youth pastor and his faith. “It wasn’t something out of my comfort zone” he said. “I knew a tug pulled on my heart and it was definitely from God… He interrupted my plans for that day to carry on his plans.”
He pushes back against the idea that young people do not care. “People say that this newer generation is just like they don’t care you know? But I don’t believe that” Jordan said. “I believe that we’re hungrier and we just want to help as much as we can and we need to be that light.”
“I’m just a man trying to spread positivity in the Lord’s work” he added. “Just be generous people. It’s not that hard to be nice to people and you never know what they’re going through. Just spread the love of God.”
“He interrupted my plans for that day to carry on His plans.” What a beautiful and thoughtful statement from a young man of faith. We get so frustrated by interruptions. We hate it when our day gets thrown off track. But we have to realize that what we call an interruption is usually God setting up a divine appointment.
Jordan thought he was just going to the bank to drop off some money. He had his day mapped out. But God was looking down and He saw a grieving widower whose shoes were falling apart and whose heart was breaking from the weight of loneliness.
Sometimes we get so busy with our own schedules that we completely ignore the Holy Spirit telling us to just stop and help. God is always working behind the scenes and He is always orchestrating these incredible opportunities where we can be His hands and feet to share His love and the gospel with others.
We just have to be willing to let Him interrupt our plans. We have to be willing to give up what we have and give priority to those who need our help. Because when we say yes to that quiet nudge, we let God carry out His will through us.
Please keep Mister Roy in your prayers as he manages his health challenges and the loss of his wife.
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so.” (Proverbs 3:27, NKJV)
WATCH: Teen Gives Grieving Widower His Shoes, Then Goes the Extra Mile
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