Written by a Metro Denver Hospice Physician
I was driving home from a meeting this evening at about 5:00, stuck in traffic on Colorado Boulevard, and the car started to choke and splutter and die. I barely managed to coast, cursing, into a gas station, glad only that I would not be blocking traffic and would have a somewhat warm spot to wait for the tow truck. It wouldn't even turn over. Before I could make the call, I saw a woman walking out of the 'quickie mart ' building, and it looked like she slipped on some ice and fell into a gas pump, so I got out to see if she was okay.
When
I got there, it looked more like she had been overcome by sobs than that she
had fallen; she was a young woman who looked really haggard with dark circles
under her eyes. She dropped something as I helped her up, and I picked it up to
give it to her. It was a nickel.
At
that moment, everything came into focus for me: the crying woman, the ancient
Suburban crammed full of stuff with 3 kids in the back (1 in a car seat), and
the gas pump reading $4.95.
I
asked her if she was okay and if she needed help, and she just kept saying, “I
don't want my kids to see me crying,” so we stood on the other side of the pump
from her car. She said she was driving to California and that things were very
hard for her right now. So I asked, “And you were praying?” That made her back
away from me a little, but I assured her I was not a crazy person and said, “He
heard you, and He sent me.”
I
took out my card and swiped it through the card reader on the pump so she could
fill up her truck completely, and while it was fueling, walked to the next door
McDonald's and bought 2 big bags of food, some gift certificates for more, and
a big cup of coffee. She gave the food to the kids in the car, who attacked it
like wolves, and we stood by the pump eating fries and talking a little.
She
told me her name, and that she lived in Kansas City. Her boyfriend left 2
months ago, and she had not been able to make ends meet. She knew she wouldn't
have money to pay rent January 1, and finally in desperation had called her
parents, with whom she had not spoken in about 5 years. They lived in
California and said she could come live with them and try to get on her feet
there.
She
packed up everything she owned in the car. She told the kids they were going to
California for Christmas, but not that they were going to live there.
I
gave her my gloves, a little hug and said a quick prayer with her for safety on
the road. As I was walking over to my car, she said, “So, are you like an angel
or something?”
This
definitely made me cry. I said, “Sweetie, at this time of year angels are
really busy, so sometimes God uses regular people.”
It
was so incredible to be a part of someone else's miracle. And of course, you
guessed it, when I got in my car it started right away and got me home with no
problem. I'll put it in the shop tomorrow to check, but I suspect the mechanic
won't find anything wrong.
Sometimes
the angels fly close enough to you that you can hear the flutter of their
wings...
Psalms
55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved.”
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