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 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 dingey 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.
There is no order of difficulty in miracles
