Pay it forward

Driving back down to UD this Sunday I felt like a had a pretty good idea for a blog entry about my weekend in Kansas. God had different ideas. As we were nearing Blackwell, OK about an hour and a half away from home in Kansas and four hours away from home in Texas, my truck started doing funny things. First the radio quit which was soon followed by the speedometer. At this point I thought maybe a wire had come loose as I'd been having some problems with the dash, that was until I noticed that my dashboard lights were really dim and upon further inspection of my gauges I realized that the voltage was not reading at all. For a gasoline-powered, internal combustion engine this is a problem. So as we passed Blackwell the truck began to stutter and as I pulled up the exit ramp of Hubbard Rd, three miles south of Blackwell, it died completely. Thus David and I were left sitting just off I-35 in the Middle-of-Nowhere OK with a dead battery and burned out alternator. I got out of the truck, popped the hood, poked around a little, called my dad, and we decided that it was most likely that the alternator had gone out (the part that charges the battery so the spark plugs can spark and thus power your engine). My dad got in the truck to come and help us fix it and David and I were about to settle in for a good long wait when a little car pulled up the off ramp. A middle-aged man got out and asked if we needed any help. He must have decided at the very last second to stop because his car was already halfway around the corner onto Hubbard Rd. After I told him the problem he offered to give me a ride back into Blackwell, which had a few parts stores, as he was on his way there to pick up some kids for youth group. I ran the idea by my dad who was still on the phone and then got in the car while David stayed behind to watch the truck and work on homework. He dropped me off at the O'Reilly's in town and they had refurbished alternator that would work.

Over the course of the drive to and from I got to know this good Samaritan named Rex. He grew up on a farm and still did a little farming while he wasn't at his job in sales support for Conoco-Phillips. In fact we stopped by his farm after dropping off the youth group kids to pick up some tools. He had one adopted son who had actually majored in Politics (my major), had gone to law school and was now a staffer for an Oklahoma Senator in DC. He came from a tight-nit farm family and was a devoted Methodist. He had grown up near Nordin, and was watching people slowly move away, off the farm, and the resulting gradual decline of rural Oklahoma. As we got on I-35, headed back to the truck the conversation really got good though. He led off by saying that he didn't want to offend but that he felt he needed to say that it didn't matter what we call ourselves, Methodists, Catholics, etc, it was out belief in Jesus Christ that made us Christians, which I agreed to (religion had come up earlier in the drive due in part to the large white cross in the middle of my shirt which I suspect was part of the reason why he stopped). He went on to tell me how God seemed to give him all kinds of opportunities to help people, us most recently. He had been on his way to Ponca City to pick up a kid for the youth group, when the leader called to say that guy wasn't coming and could he go to Blackwell to pickup a few other kids. He'd just passed the Blackwell exit when he got the call so he drove on up to the Hubbard St exit to turn around and when he exited there David and I sat. We hadn't been there for more than a minute or two when he pulled up; the timing of God never ceases to amaze me. When I tried to thank him for dropping his plans to help us, he told me not to thank him because he was just the instrument and the only plan he was trying to carry out was God's (reminds me of some other friends back home). About that time we got back to the truck. The old alternator came out out surprisingly easily and the new one went in just as well. As Rex was hurriedly collecting his tools so he could get back to the youth group, I thanked him again and tried to give him some money for his time and gas, but he wasn't about to take it. He told me for the second the only person I had to thank was God, and I promised him I'd pay it forward. I also thank God for my dad who dropped everything on a Sunday afternoon to drive an hour just to have us get the truck fixed shortly before he got there.

Since Sunday I've been trying to realize the little opportunities of charity God has given me to carry out that promise, and in a way I hope this post is one of those little acts. I hope the story of our little adventure will bring you the same kind of feeling of awe at the goodness of God's plan that David and I had, and that it will encourage you to look for your own little ways of touching others' lives. Our unexpected breakdown ended up being the highlight of a great weekend and a motivation to grow in charity. How is God working through the unexpected in your own life? God Bless and until next time quo vadis, where are you going?