Only Flat On The Bottom

It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon. The drive couldn’t be better. Very few cars on the road, not a cloud in the sky. Just one of those beautiful late spring afternoons. It was a day that most would call, perfect. Couldn’t be better. Punch the cruise button and drift off into never never land of the mind. Work for the day was done and in no time at all, he would be home and enjoying the comfort of the old lazyboy in the corner.
That is, until he saw a car on the side of the road. It’s too good a day to get involved. It’s easy to justify why we would just breeze on by like all the rest. They probably phoned for help. Looks like just a rear tire. Can’t change a tire anymore. At least that is what the doctor said. Someone else will stop. Maybe a tow truck is coming or one of those crash truck vultures will be along soon. Besides, no one wants to get dirty. What if the spare is flat too?
In less then ninety seconds, all these excuses and many more when through his head. Looking around at the sparse nature of the highway, he reluctantly pulled over to see if everything was all right.
It was an older couple on their way to a meeting an hour away and now they didn’t think they could make it in time. Well, they didn’t have a cell phone so he offered his to call for a truck. The voice on the other end, sounding oh so bored with the day and informed them, it would be at least an hour. Nice people here. And so the small talk began. Interesting people with so many life experiences to share. While the talking was going on, he decided to get everything ready for the truck driver. Out came the spare, with air in it, the jack and of course all the dirt and dust of too many years of driving down dirt roads.
Didn’t take long to jack the car up. That was a promising sign. Just for curiosity, he tried the wheel nuts. All the while they talked about this and that. About their lives and children and dreams of the future. Four nuts moved but one said, “I’m not budging.” And so the conversation continued as they stood there looking at one lonely wheel nut. Just one nut away from success. After a few more minutes and a few more tries they all but gave up.
You might be thinking this is not a story about the good Samaritan. Even though it could be, it’s not. It’s about realizing that to accomplish something worthwhile in life we sometimes need to get dirty and do things we are not supposed to do. It’s about wishing there will be someone out there to help me when I need a helping hand. And it’s about getting to know a stranger who shared their life in a brief moment of time.
Flat tire thrown in the back, jack stowed away and both cars resume the journey to their respective destinations. What a beautiful day! The beauty of the day was not in the perfect afternoon, the cloudless sky or the sparse traffic. It does include those things but more. It includes those moments where our lives are interrupted by God so we can get to know someone new.
Something to think about
Rob