When I told Warren the story, he glowed at me.

“Dude, that is karma!”

Karma?  Maybe.  Or maybe it was something a little deeper.  Maybe God had this plan for me all along and was just waiting for me to act it out. 

Lucky for me, I did.

I suppose I should back up.  Back in October when I interviewed at Amazon, I was given the schedule of Sunday through Wednesday, working the midnight shift of 1:20 am to 11:50 am.  Sadly, that has prevented me from attending church with my family.  I was able to shift swap a few times, but after asking Amazon over and over about working with me to change my schedule, the answer was always no … until now.

Do you want to hear a story?

I met Vilbon last week.  He is a new hire at Amazon and reminds me a bit of a Chiefs offensive lineman.  The dude is HUGE!  Vilbon was the most happy-go-lucky guy you’d ever meet, and he didn’t speck a lick of English.  He would just flash his smile and say, “No problem!” in his Haitian accent.  They speak a French Creole there, and I soon discovered Vilbon’s vocabulary consisted of about 20 English words. 

Two of them were, “No problem!”

So, when I asked him, “Do you know what you are doing?” and he would respond, “No problem!” … uh, yeah, you get the picture.  He probably didn’t get much of anything I said.  But I loved the guy.  How could you not?  I mean, he was going through those first week struggles that EVERYONE endures, and he kept saying, “No problem!” 

Last Wednesday we were about an hour from finishing up.  Sleep sounded so sweet at that point.  And a hot shower.  And lunch.  Lunch to shower to sleep.  That is my routine.  Sometimes I skip the shower if exhaustion sets in.  Many times it does.  But there was Vilbon next to me, smiling away.

“Hey, how are you doing, big guy?”

I didn’t know his name at that point.  I was just a friendly face to him, and he didn’t know me beyond telling me, “No problem!”  But this time he engaged me.  With his phone.

He started speaking all this French Creole gibberish into his phone, tapped me on the shoulder, and showed me what he had said.  Google had somehow translated it!  Technology these days is kinda crazy.

The message read, “Uber is taking all my money.  I am paying about 60 bucks a day to drive to work and get home.  Can you give me a ride?”

60 bucks just to get to work?  My heart ached for the guy.  I really didn’t know what to say.  Not only was I exhausted, but I could practically see my bed welcoming me home.  And if he was paying that much money, the dude probably lived far away. 

It was incredibly cool.  We communicated via his phone.  I would talk into it, and it translated to French Creole.  He talked into it, and not only did it tell me what he was saying.  An AI voice read me his message! 

One small problem … He told me his shift ended at 12:30 pm.  Forty minutes after I got off.  I thought it out.  What if I bought lunch at the Amazon Café?  Then at least I would be able to take him home and crash right when I pulled in.  Crash into bed that is.  I was seriously hoping not to crash my car, nodding off to sleep!

So, I told Vilbon I would meet him in the break room.  Pretty sure he replied, “No problem!”

Shift ended.  Clocking out was glorious.  Even more glorious knowing I now had three days off before my next shift.  I took a stroll down to Human Resources.  Time to finally cash in my Amazon swag bucks.  Jackie showed me the paraphernalia, and my Amazon drip escalated with two amazing T-shirts. 

(Drip means clothing or attire.  Maybe fashion?  I think I used the word right after hearing it used in middle school slang over the past few years.)

Walking back from the Amazon Swag Shop—that is what I shall call it at least—I decided to be bold.  I never did get the shift change I wanted, and I had probably asked like 15 different people on 15 different occasions, but hey, the worst she could tell me was no.  I had been told no before.  What was one more time?

Kinda reminds me of the story of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8). 

“You know,” Jackie began.  “I just talked to four people today about changing shifts.  One gal wants to move off the Wednesday through Saturday shift and swap to flex.  Would you be interested in that one?”

“Well … yeah!” I said.  “Maybe.”

We had already planned three summer vacations, but I had plenty of PTO and UPT built up.  Enough to cover it all.  And it would bless me by being able to return to my church family! 

I remember the first Sunday I was able to swap shifts back in January.  The music made me weep.  The camaraderie with my friends was like I had never left.  The message hit home, warming my aching soul.  Never again will I take attending church for granted.  My faith means that much to me.

I ate my lunch, opting for a delicious chicken fajita wrap and waited for my new friend to emerge from the warehouse.  Sure enough, he wandered out around 12:32 pm. 

“Vilbon!” I greeted him.  “My name is Clint.”

I had looked up his name on the Amazon A to Z app and given him a shout out.  After surviving week one at Amazon, he certainly deserved it.  They even have a badge for that.  It aint easy folks. 

I plugged his address into my phone.  Google Maps estimated the drive to be 32 minutes—in the opposite direction of which I was headed. 

“I got you, Vilbon!” I said, giving him a fist bump.

“No problem!” he smiled at me.

He had just gotten his first fist bump from me.  That is the universal Amazonian handshake of encouragement.  It powers us through our picks at the end of the day as we get the packages ready for the drivers.

Christian music was playing at a low volume in my car.  I wondered if we should just listen in silence or if I should talk to the guy.  I couldn’t resist.  I HAD to talk to him through his phone.  I had to learn this guy’s story.  As he held the phone to my side of the car, allowing me to speak questions, he translated answers back to me.  It was about when we were driving through Downtown Kanas City that God put it on my heart to witness to him.

“Vilbon, do you know why I am doing this for you?” I asked him.  “I am doing it because I love Jesus.”

He nodded excitedly next to me.  What I then learned almost brought tears to my eyes.  Vilbon’s parents had planted two churches in Haiti.  His favorite Bible story was the story of David.  Why?  Because it motivates him.  A little scrawny shepherd boy, taking out the giant before him with a sling and a stone.

This guy was already slaying giants in my mind.  Coming to a brand new country.  Learning a new language.  Adjusting to a new culture.  Working the midnight shift at Amazon.  I have seen locals from Kansas City bow out in submission after enduring one shift and seeing what they were up against. 

Heck, we could make a reality show about that.  We could call it Surviving Amazon.  Let the contestants watch all the training videos, wander aimlessly about the concrete floors, and endure their first day of stowing, trying to keep up putting packages away that come at you like machine gun fire, all while wiping the sleep out of your eyes and feeling your heart beat out of your chest in helpless anxiety. 

I love our company, but like I said above.  It aint easy, and it most certainly aint for everyone.

I dropped Vilbon off at his apartment complex.

“God will reward you for this,” the AI voice told me as I put the car in park.  “Thank you so much, Clint!”

He fist bumped me and was out the door.  I considered snagging some caffeine for the drive home at the QT around the corner, but I decided otherwise.  I just wanted to get home, and my adrenaline was riding at an all-time high.  We may not have spoken the same language, but we connected on a deeper level like peanut butter and chocolate. 

The language of love is ALWAYS universal.

A scripture came to mind as I pulled safely off the highway.  Galatians 6:10 reads, “Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”  Never before had sleep been so sweet.  I was out the moment my head hit the pillow.

I marvel at this story now and want Jackie to hear about it.  And Mandy.  And Bracken.  And Warren.  And Q.  And Steve, Drew, Amanda, Jora, Mike, Vaughn, Kary, Steve, Jessica, Sheri, April, Ashley, Alejandro, Mohamad, Vicente, Betty, Logan, Kelsey, Myron, Alex, Justin, Ray, Bob, Matthew, Mustafa, Hassan, Dee … I could go on, but you get the point.  All of DKS3 should know this story and pull the life lessons that spill forth.

Those lessons are crystal clear.  Good things come to those who wait.  It only took six months to get my shift changed, but you better know that the first time I step foot into my church on Father’s Day, I will not take that moment for granted.  It might even make my experience that much more sweeter.

But I wonder about the timing.  If I hadn’t chosen to drive Vilbon home, would the opportunity have closed on the shift change?  If I hadn’t talked to Jackie on that day, would I be blogging about something different, such as not taking church for granted or using my Thursday as my day of rest to watch the sermon on YouTube?

Karma is real.  If you do good to others, it will come back to you tenfold.  Helping and serving others will change your life, and when you do it for a deeper purpose, to allow others to see who Jesus is through your humble actions, magic happens.

My friends, guess what?  Magic happened today.  I slept in two extra hours.  My body desperately needed it, and I had saved up my PTO for moments like this.  As I backed out of my driveway, I smiled.  Matthew West was singing “I Could Use a Little Church Right Now.”  The song was immediately followed by “God is on the Move” by 7eventh Time Down, and I pulled into Amazon with Forrest Frank’s “Good Day” lifting my spirits.

I love it when God speaks to me through music!

When I arrived at work, it was 3:45 am.  My friends were finishing their first break already, and I found Vilbon, snapping an epic picture of him.  Little did the guy know that because he asked me for a ride, I was able to get the shift that I had always wanted in the first place.  I hope Google can translate this into French Creole for him to read!

I will close by saying this … There is a difference between happiness and joy.  Joy is more of a choice to be positive amidst any circumstance.  Happiness is based on the root of what happens to you.  Today, for the first time ever, I felt joy AND happiness at work.  I never would have thought this could ever happen.

Guess it is karma.  Nah, it is more than karma.  This is a beautiful tapestry woven by my creator, and I cannot wait to see what He does next.