Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Help from an Unexpected Source

The other evening, I was driving to my friends' house to stay for a bit, teach the kids and rest my foot. I was in the HOV lane when the driver's side heat shield (which was jury-rigged, anyway) came loose and started flapping around and hitting the car. There was nowhere to pull over, even after I left the HOV lane, so I took an exit.

At the bottom of the ramp a man, obviously indigent, called from across the road:
 "Do you need help?"
"I need a place to pull over."
"There is a shelter just there on the right. Go in the parking lot."

You know, I was in an unfamiliar inner city neighborhood and a complete stranger was giving me directions. I am unable to walk without aids, I had my 13 year old son with me and it was dark.

 It probably would have been wisest to find a well-lit parking lot at a fastfood joint, lock the doors and call AAA. Usually, I err on the side of safety.

Not this time. I pulled into that parking lot. Didn't even think about it.

It was fine, of course. The man approached. I told him "I can't walk" and Jordan got out to help. The man used a cane himself. He pulled off the heat shield, not an easy task, and put it in the trunk. There is a little damage to the paint on the car, but otherwise all is well. (Except that the heat shield needs to be replaced.)

"I am a veteran, Ma'am. God bless you!"

I gave the man the $3 I had in my pocket, wishing I had more cash, rather than just a credit card and thanked him.


"Take care of your Mama, kid"

And we went on our way.

I truly believe that God put that man in our path and prompted me to follow his lead. I am really grateful for his help.


Have you ever gotten help from an unexpected source?




I am participating in the January 2013 Ultimate Blog Challenge.

10 comments:

  1. Sometimes you just have to trust your gut instinct. Thanks for sharing the story.

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  2. OH GOSH YES! I told my story just yesterday of how a guy helped me on the highway. Here's the kicker, it was dark and cold (the guy had on shorts by the way) and in order to see, he had to turn his car around to face mine so that he can shine his lights. He did this on a 2 lane highway with trucks and cars speeding by at high speeds! He risked his life to help me!! To this day, I call him my guardian angel. :-)å

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    1. Amazing... sometimes strangers can be such a blessing! Thanks for telling your story.

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  3. Another visit from an angel. May God bless him.

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  4. The old cliche: never judge a book by its cover. Sometimes I meet the nicest, and definitely most interesting, people in those types of "unsavory" neighborhoods. And I definitely know rude, crooked people in the nicer neighborhoods that I grew up in. As a commenter above said, sometimes you just have to trust your gut.

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    1. There are kind and helpful people everywhere. I, too, have met many interesting people in "unsavory" neighborhoods. And I do think our "guts" give us all kinds of clues.

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  5. Years ago, on New Years Eve, I was a passenger in my cousin's car. They were visiting from 150 miles away. At the bottom of an exit ramp, their car died. A woman on her way to work pulled over and offered us a ride to the restaurant where she worked. We accepted her offer. And, a garage stayed open to fix the car,while we ate in the restaurant. I'm glad your experience worked out well. I grew up in a major city, and I would have been petrified.

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    1. What nice people! Glad you're experience worked out well, too.

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