I have a lot of pictures to sort through and a fun story to tell about yesterday's party for Max's 5th birthday, which I will get to soon. However, I'm feeling compelled to tell a different story today. Yesterday my parents loaded up to head back home after the party along with my young two nephews. Twenty-five minutes or so down the road after stopping for gas, their car refused to start. Not only would it not start, but the car decided to go berserk. The car alarm would not shut off!
I get a call on my cell phone and "Dad" pops up. Let's face it. I don't get very many calls from Dad, and the fact that they were in transit home, initially made me nervous. Especially when I answer and he says, "Hi....We've had some issues..." When he told me it was just his car not starting I was instantly relieved. Sure, it was a problem, but I was expecting a lot worse. So for some insane reason (incredibly insane), the whole family loads up in the mini-van and sets out on a rescue adventure. I'm not entirely sure why the five of us thought it would take us all to make the rescue, but we went together all the same. Thankfully, the boys had just had a glass of milk and a second piece of birthday cake for snack and the baby had napped and snacked as well. It couldn't have happened at a better time I suppose. So we loaded the kids in the car and realized we were missing our jumper cables. It took a few extra minutes of searching but they were finally located, stashed in the car along with the tools, and we headed out. My mom had given Max "The Smurfs" movie for his birthday so we played that for the boys on the car ride. I sat beside Belle and provided her entertainment. When we arrived at the gas station, Dad, Mom, and the two boys were taking advantage of the convenience store A/C. Dad met Fer at our minivan and we got into place to jump start the car. We were hoping for a quick jump, and then we could all be on our way. That didn't happen. The kids and I stayed in the air conditioned van so the kids would have their movie and we invited Mom and my two nephews to join us. Luckily, they had already loaded up on snacks and drinks. Dad and Fer continued to mess around under the hood of the RAV-4 to see if they could get it to at least get the car alarm to quit going off. That's when Steve showed up. Steve must have been on his break from the Corner Store when he saw Fernando and Dad laboring away without positive results. Steve had a receding hairline, shoulder length hair, a salt and pepper 5 o'clock shadow, and a quiet kindness to him. Normally I wouldn't have noticed so much about a stranger, but I was taken aback by his generosity of his time. There he was on his much deserved break, and in a 100+ degree temperature, he decides to come over and see if there was anything he could do to help. He really didn't say much. He just walked up and stuck his head under the hood, asked a few questions, muttered a couple instructions for Dad to try, and stepped back to wait. Nothing happened (except the continuous shrill of the car alarm). He continued to stand back in thought, talked to himself a little, then walked away. Well, alright...thanks Steve....30 seconds later here comes Steve in his V8 pickup truck. I'm really curious about Steve. I'm a people watcher and I love pondering human nature. I stand outside of the minivan so the five kids and my mom have space in the minivan. Dad is standing on the driver's side of his vehicle, Steve is under the hood, and Fernando is standing on the passenger side with the door open looking through the RAV-4 car manual. I stepped beside Fer to see what it was that he was up to. For some reason or another I glanced down onto the floor board of this passenger side of the car. On the floor I notice a magazine my mom, no doubt, had left there. On the front cover displayed in large letters was "Angels all Around".
Now I know what you are thinking, I'm not being nutty here. Please bear with me as I try to explain. Steve may not have been a full fledged Angelic winged being sent by God to proclaim a life changing message. But in his own way he was being an Angel by demonstrating his compassion, neighborliness, and helpfulness with a patience to be admired. He didn't know any of us from Adam, but that didn't matter. He saw some folks in a pickle and he took it upon himself to help us out. No, he did not perform any kind of miracle. And no, the car still did not start. But that's not the point. There is still good out there among strangers, and I for one needed to be witness to this. Among the tragic events in the past week, not only in the events in our country and around the world, but in our own personal world, it is a blessing to see the kind nature of a simple human being acting exactly like every one of us should, selfless and giving.
Whether or not you believe in Angels, supreme beings, or in the goodness of humanity, I think we can all be in agreement that it is refreshing to see good people willing to help their neighbors in need. Personally, it is my belief that God does send His Angels when it is required. I believe He may send them directly when there is no other way, or He sends them to guide His people to do acts of kindness or "super human" deeds when deemed necessary. I did get an overwhelming sense of comfort when I looked at Steve after reading the title on the magazine. I can't say who or what he was exactly, but I felt a peace about him.
In the end, we had to hit up the local Auto Zone, got a new battery, installed it, and we went our separate ways. Thank goodness it wasn't anything worse. Even though I could tell some were suspicious that a new battery wouldn't be enough. I had this sense that it would all be okay. To some, this story may be a complete waste of time, but I hope for some of you it will remind you of the goodness that is still around us, even when we are doubtful. Or maybe it will inspire you to be THAT good that we could all use some time or another. We can all learn to "Pay it forward".
So to Steve at the Corner Store located on TX 114 and I35N if you just miraculously happen to read this:
Thank you for your kindness, your generosity, and restoring some faith in others. We need more people like you in our lives. I'm grateful that my family was able to make your acquaintance if only for the briefest of moments. Please continue to keep your generous spirit and helping heart. Thank you for being the Angel that we needed. We all go through difficult times in our lives or moments that truly challenge us. We pray that for you, there will be that special Angel that will help you out just as you assisted us when you are in need.
Or how about another take on the story? My husband is a firm believer that everything happens at the time it does for a specific reason whether we see it or not. Perhaps the car's battery died (even though it wasn't old) when it did to prevent my family from heading down the highway at a time they shouldn't. Maybe Steve was someone to help continue the delay until the time was right.
(Side story): Fer shared this story with me just after reading my blog post and we thought it was fitting to include today. He told me of the time when my sister was visiting with her sons. Perhaps you remember our Fourth of July story. That day we were going to head out to the Founders' Plaza to watch airplanes land and take off. Because my sister is unfamiliar with the area, I was going to drive her SUV while Fer led the way in our minivan. My sister was parked behind the van so I backed out first and waited on the street for Fernando to take the lead. We waited and waited and waited and finally Fer came around the corner for us to follow. (He didn't know we had already gone and he thought he was waiting for us to pull out.) As it turns out as Fernando approached the stop sign near our home a young girl in a pickup truck barreled through the four-way stop without even hesitating. If we had not been delayed, perhaps either the mini van containing Fer, Belle, Max, and Jack would have been hit or the SUV with my sister, Henry, and myself. Who knows really what could have happened, but if you believe things happen for a reason like we do, then you'll see how there are blessings even in some of presumed annoyances we encounter from time to time in our lives.
I challenge all of us to reflect on who the "Angels" are in our lives or perhaps on a time in our lives when we were suspicious that perhaps we wouldn't have made it through unharmed without the intervention of something divine. Hold on to those moments and let them be a reminder that we are never alone.
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