The Brave Man at Starbucks

I had a wonderful encounter yesterday:
My grande nonfat caramel macchiato was gone but my sermon wasn't done yet, so there I sat in the corner of the local Starbucks. (For some reason I find that coffee shops have just the right amount of "white noise" for me, so I can drown out everything else and actually get some work done, most of the time. Of course coffee shops are also good for people watching...)
I was busily rearranging paragraphs in my outline when I looked up at the figure who had been waiting for his coffee with considerably more animation than the average customer. I'd seen him out of the corner of my eye, struggling to get a zip-up hooded sweatshirt on over his head. The zipper was zipped up only an inch or two, but he was having a really hard time wrestling with the sleeves, and the hood. I smiled at him. He kept struggling.
Then he came over to me and asked if I could help him. He had some obvious physical challenges - joints that seemed to bend at awkward angles - and I said "Sure, what can I do for you?"
He said, "Usually I put this on over my head, but I'm having a hard time. When I get this on, would you zip it up for me?"
"I think I can do that." So he undid the zipper on the sweatshirt, got his arms in it the conventional way, then took a step towards me so I could get the zip started, the way a little kid would.
"There you go," I said, after zipping him about half-way up.
"Thanks," he replied. "So, you're married?" (He must have noticed my wedding band).
"Yep, I am."
"Too bad for me" he said with a smile.
I couldn't help but smile back. "Thanks. We've been married ten months and so far it's wonderful."
"Good," he said, still smiling. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Too bad I got this on, now, or I'd show you my tattoo: 'Tough times don't last, tough people do.' It's hard to remember sometimes when you're challenged. That's why I had it done in ink."
And ever-so-eloquently I said, "Huh."
Then his drink was ready and he thanked me again and headed for the door. Watching him head out, with his toes pointed together and his skinny legs seeming incredibly uncooperative, I had one thought in my head: And the crooked shall be made straight.

Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.
Come and bless this man brave enough to ask a total stranger for help.
Come and bless all of us - we all need help, even those of us whose needs aren't quite so close to the surface. Make us brave in our vulnerability.
Stir up your power, O Lord, and come.