“Where are the hotel vans?” I asked, out of breath. He’ll be at the shuttle pickup, I reassured myself.
The man pointed me to a waiting area outside. Pulling my suitcase, I ran out, dodged two cars dropping off people, and arrived at the shuttle lane. The bench there was empty. I looked to my left. A couple of lanes over and a little way down, I saw a familiar face. A taxi was slowing to pick him up.
I left my luggage behind as I sprinted toward the taxi. “Wait!” I cried out. “Wait!”
The man spoke to the taxi driver through the passenger-side window for a moment, then turned toward me as I approached the cab. But he was a stranger.
“Oh,” I said, “I’m sorry. I thought you were a friend of mine.”
“No problem.” He opened the cab’s door and slid inside.
I walked back toward my luggage. Why couldn’t that have been him? Did he just disappear? I looked to my right, through the glass doors into the terminal. Nothing. The thought crossed my mind that maybe I should check baggage claim. But he didn’t have a thing with him. He probably didn’t have any luggage at all. Why would he need luggage?
I heard a vehicle approaching. I glanced back over my shoulder and saw my shuttle. I picked up my pace, but the shuttle got to the bench before I did.
“Hold on a sec!” I shouted as I got within range.
The shuttle driver appeared from behind the van and walked over to my luggage. I noticed his dreadlocks as he reached for the suitcase.
“Do you want the little bag with you or in the back?”
His accent sounded Jamaican. Or at least what Jamaican is supposed to sound like.
“I’ll keep it, thanks.”
He put my suitcase in the back of the van. I looked inside the front. It was empty. I sat in the row behind the driver’s seat. The Jamaican took his seat and shifted into drive.
“Could you wait here for just a minute?” I asked. “Somebody else might join us.”
“Sure thing,” the driver answered. He glanced at me in the rearview mirror. I looked out the window, hoping to see Jay’s face. He even called himself Jay. How could I be so blind?
The driver started humming a tune. A minute passed. He straightened slightly. “Ready to go, or should I wait a little longer?”
I took one last look around, then fighting off a pang of disappointment, said, “You can go.”
The van pulled out and started toward the airport exit. The driver turned on some reggae music. I pondered.
Why did he leave like that? At least Nick got to figure out who he was and ask him some questions. Why did he wait until the end to make his identity obvious?
And why did he appear to me at all? Or to Nick? It’s not like we’re something special. Does he connect with people all the time?
As I thought it over, I felt astounded by the encounter and let down all at the same time. Now what? What do you do after this kind of experience? Would anything else on earth come close? My mind raced, running through the conversation we’d had.
We arrived at the resort. I checked in and made my way to my room—quite a hike, given the size of the place. I tried scoping out the place a little during my walk, but work was the last thing on my mind.
My room was spacious and elegant. As I expected. I parked my suitcase at the foot of the bed and freshened up a bit in the bathroom. I walked back into the bedroom and sat on the bed. I looked over at the phone and noticed a box covered with wrapping paper. I picked it up. On the top, tucked under the ribbon, was a small card with “Mattie” written on it. It wasn’t Nick’s handwriting.
I unwrapped the box first and looked inside. The present was wrapped in tissue paper. I pulled aside the paper and held up a darling blue newborn outfit. A white sheep decorated the front.
I reached for the envelope and pulled out the card. I opened it and read the words handwritten on the inside:
Readers Guide
1. What do you see as the primary theme of A Day with a Perfect Stranger? In what ways does this theme relate to your own life? Explain.
2. What aspect of the book held the most meaning for you personally? Why?
3. What in the character of Jesus, as presented in the book, appealed to you the most? Why?
4. What would you say is the main purpose of Mattie’s life before she encounters Jesus? What life purpose does Jesus invite her into?
5. Why does Mattie find her marriage unfulfilling? Can you relate in any way to the hopelessness Mattie feels about her relationship with Nick? Perhaps in your case it is a relationship, or perhaps something else. What is the hope that Jesus offers her? How does that hope relate to your situation?
6. How does Jesus use the word “religion” in the book (see this page)? What does he say religion produces (see especially chapter 4)? In what ways has religiosity pushed you further away from real intimacy with God?
7. Jesus comments that people (men in this case) often “weren’t loved for who they are but instead for how they performed” (this page). Where can you find love that is unconditional, rather than based on how you perform? How could knowing you are loved that way affect your life?
8. Talk about Jesus’s and Mattie’s discussion of fulfillment in life. From what things have you personally sought fulfillment? How much fulfillment did these things end up providing? Explain.
9. If your life continues in its current direction, when it draws to a close, will you have been ultimately fulfilled? Why or why not? What implications does this have for decisions you may want to make?
10. On page this page, Jesus says, “True fulfillment can’t be found in the created realm. Only God himself can satisfy the human heart. You were created for God. Nothing else will satisfy.” What implication does this have for how you are living your life?
11. Can you relate to how Mattie describes parenthood (this page)? If you are a parent, what does your love for your children tell you about God’s love for you?
12. Read back through the Bible verses Jesus writes on the pad (this page and this page). Based on these verses, how would you describe God’s heart toward you?
13. Between you and God, who is really pursuing whom? What are the implications of the fact that you are a responder in a relationship with God, not an initiator?
14. On this page, Jesus says, “The human heart, once distanced from God, is not easily won back to its source of life and goodness.” Why do you think this is the case? What is blocking you from fully experiencing the source of true life?
15. Jesus speaks to Mattie about the importance of listening to God. To listen, one must be connected to him at the deepest level. How does Jesus indicate this connection is established (see this page). Have you made this permanent connection?
16. What does it take to really listen to someone? What might it take to really listen to what God wants to say to you?
17. In the book, what does Jesus mean when he talks about delighting in God (see this page)? What would it look like for you to delight in God? How would it change your life if you did?
18. Think about Jesus’s and Mattie’s conversation about her sister, Julie, and suffering (this page). For Julie, why will having God overshadow the pain she has experienced? In what way can God’s love heal all?
19. Think about suffering that you have experienced in your life. How do the following facts affect your perspective on suffering?
• God himself suffered more than anyone by dying for your sins.
• God uses your suffering to awaken your need for true intimacy with him.
20. Why would having God live in her, learning to listen to God’s voice, and deeply knowing God’s love enable Mattie to become the person she was meant to be?
About the Author
DAVID GREGORY is the best-selling author of Dinner with a Perfect Stranger, The Next Level, The Last Christian, and the coauthor of the nonfiction book, The Rest
of the Gospel. After a ten-year business career, he returned to school to study religion, sociology and communications. He holds master’s degrees from Dallas Theological Seminary and the University of North Texas. A native of Texas, he now lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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