He
almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in
the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front
of her Mercedes and got out. His years old Pontiac
was still sputtering when he approached her.
Even with the smile on
his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or
so .. was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and
hungry.
He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the
cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in
you.
He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the
car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."
Well,
all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan
crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his
knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to
get dirty and his hands hurt.
As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she
rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was
from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him
enough for coming to her aid.
Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk.
The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right
with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened
had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was
not a job to him. This was helping someone in need,
and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He
had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any
other way.
He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the
next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the
assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."
He waited
until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing
day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the
twilight.
A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went
in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg
of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old
gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and
brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. she had a sweet smile, one
that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady
noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the
strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who
had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered
Bryan.
After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar
bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill,
but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time
the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be.
Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her
eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have
been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you
really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this
chain of love end with you."
Under the napkin were four more $100
bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people
to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she
got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and
what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and
her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be
hard..She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next
to her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's
gonna be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."
There is an old
saying "What goes around comes around." Today, I sent you this story, and I'm
asking you to pass it on ... Let this light shine.
Don't delete it.
Please pass this on to a friend.
Good friends are like stars....You don't
always see them, but you know they are always there.
For instructions
on being Born Again click here.
Thank you for reading.
