The Chicken and the Wiccan

By: Missionary Team

So one day I was at Chick-fil-A. I was waiting for a friend to get out of a meeting he was having there. I sat down at a table, and being the person I am I happened to have my Bible on me. I pulled it out and began to read. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone sit down at a table across from me. Immediately I heard on my heart “ask him if he’s ever read the Bible” Now at first I said to myself “Oh boy” but my friend was going to be in the meeting for an hour so I figured why not. I first asked him what he ordered to get his attention, and then point blank asked him. “You ever read the Bible before?” He promptly responded with, “Twice actually.” Again I said to myself “Oh boy” He followed up and said, “I’m not a believer though.” Again I said to myself “Oh boy” I simply asked, “well what do you believe?” He told me “I’m a Wiccan.”

Now if you don't know, a Wiccan is a type of Pagan religion known for worshiping the devil and saying black masses. So in my head again I said to myself “Oh boy!”

Now at this point, I knew the Holy Spirit was about to do something big. I replied “ Oh really? I've never met a Wiccan before.” I ignored all the common sense In the back of my head that told me he might curse me or something and I asked him If I could sit with him.

I barely said a word. We talked for a whole hour. He told me his life story. He shared with me the suffering he had been through in his life. He talked about his divorce, his kids, his parents, and his dreams in life. It was so powerful and I just stared at him in the eyes with so much love because I knew that this guy had no idea what he was in for. He had no idea how the Holy Spirit was going to work in his life. At the end of the conversation, I asked him if he wanted to pray and he said “No I’m good”. Fair I thought I was a stranger after all. About to walk away thinking it was over I stopped and said with so much confidence. Hey bro you're amazing, did you know that? He said, “Oh really?” I said “Yea of course you're a Dad man, your kids love you so much! That makes you pretty amazing in my book!” He proceeded to say this to me: “Man I usually am a pretty isolated person like I don't talk to people very much... I guess I really needed to talk today...”

Now this story on its own I think is very powerful and is a testament that God can impact the lives of whoever He wants, whenever He wants, wherever He wants. But let me tell you what I found out after that really made me realize the power of prayer and the divine timing of God. Now, this whole conversation happened from about 2-3 PM we ended right before the hour of Divine Mercy. I was able to call some friends who pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet daily and they offered it up for him. I called my Mom later that day and she shared with me that during that exact time she was in adoration and she prayed for me several times throughout that hour without any idea of knowing what was going on. I called my best friend's Mom and I don't think it was a coincidence that the first thing she said was: “Hey! I've been meaning to call you, I was praying for you today during my holy hour!” She also was in eucharistic adoration during that exact time I was talking to this man.

Now it’s not like he dropped down on his knees and gave his life to Christ in the middle of that Chick-fil-a and honestly, I don't know what happened to him but I think it’s safe to say he met the Lord.

This story particularly speaks to me because his greatest sufferings and challenges are no different from any other catholic Dad I’ve met. This Wiccan was not alone in his sufferings. I believe God uses suffering to unite peoples of all nations and religions together. It would have been easy for me to engage in a theological debate about why the catholic church was right but it would have shut the conversation down, but instead, I was able to look past the flaws he pointed out about the church and just strive to be Christ to him.

To me, this is what it means to be a Christian; to always be prepared to care for the hearts of anyone in your path with complete trust that God is giving you the grace necessary to change that person's life.

Remember you’re not alone and God knows what He's doing!

1 Cor 10:13 says No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.