The title may have thrown you off a
bit if you aren't into literature....The quote "No act of kindness, no
matter how small, is never wasted." is a part of Aesop's Fables from The
Lion and the Mouse.
Some of you may remember that when
we had our Veracruz years ago that as we were driving down the highway (an hour
and a half behind my parents) that our car suddenly stopped working! We had no
gas, no lights, no power at all! I was scared and crying, after all we had our
8 week old baby in the car with us and I wasn't even driving. I called my
parents in tears as Kevin pulled off the highway, we rolled down an exit and
coasted into the gas station. Dad talked me into going into the gas station to
see if there was an auto repair shop close. There was! Of course....it was just
down the street and all we had to do was get there. With 4 kids in the car and
me a mess!
We coasted out of the gas station
and couldn't drive more than 5 mph. We hugged the side of the road the best we
could and there we saw it...Auto Zone! It was a big hill, the kids and I saying
we're never going to make it up that hill. Kevin said he had it and he'll make
it don't worry. Well, he did and parked us perfectly all while coasting! I was
still crying. We didn't know what was wrong and I never thought to stop and
pray about it. The guys inside were THE BEST! I have never been to a better
Auto Zone. They checked our battery and it was dead! But wait, how does it just
die while driving? Well, our Alternator went out. So, now we are hours away
from a Hyundai service place, but there is a guy in town named Steve that can
help us out. He'll put the new one in for $80. Wow! Ok, we'll take it. Now, we
had to get there!
The guys inside Auto Zone played
with the kids to keep them company, came out to check on us and even took the
time to find an alternator that fit our car. The problem....it was a couple of
hours away. No problem they said we'll have that store meet us half way. We'll
drop it off to Steve's for you. They arranged for pickup and charged our
battery in the car to get us to Steve's ok. We followed their directions and
made it there. We ate lunch in the waiting room at the auto repair place and it
took Steve a while to get it in. Guess he wasn't really used to working on
foreign cars. But, he got it in and we were off. 6 hours late leaving Ohio.
But, we left humble, and made new friends. One of those guys we still keep in
touch with and him and his wife are our new friends now. We have actually made
special arrangements to see them when we are passing through. We ate at a great
restaurant and saw some historic sights, which we can never turn down with the
kids!
Well, today Sean and I had the girls
with us and saw this truck driving down the street and his transmission seemed
to be out. You could hear him pressing on the gas and the truck would just rev.
He pulled off and happened to pull down the same street that we needed. We knew
he would still be there when we rounded the corner and he was. I put down the
window and asked if he needed help. He thought maybe we could just push him
with our truck so he could get in the parking lot. Sean and I looked at each
other and thought I'm not doing that! I told the man that I would go home and get
my husband and I would be right back. At this point, I'm not sure he believed
me or not, but I had to have Kevin do it. I called Kevin and interrupted his
day. Told him to get shoes on that he needed to get this guy in the parking
lot. When we pulled in the driveway, there was Kevin ready to go, we got straps
and the tow hitch and off we went.
We got to the guy and his truck and
he was so thankful that we came back. I knew he wouldn't believe me! But Kevin
got the hooks on his truck and the straps on ours and Kevin pulled him into the
parking lot, around the corner and into a few parking spaces to wait for the
tow truck. The man and his wife were so thankful, he said no one besides us had
stopped. People even were mad because they were blocking some of the road.
Really! How mean can people be? They offered for us to come to their home for
some "pop", yes, they were from the north. They also offered for Sean
to come. They never saw the girls, but that's ok! They're down here for
the next 6 weeks, so, we may take them up on their offer and just stop by some
time. We love to meet new friends!
I thought I would tell you all about
this story so you can see how we meet new friends. The point is, you never know
why God placed them in your life, or you in theirs. Always be willing to help
people when God places situations in your life. You may need the help someday
too...Pay It Forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment