Click, click, click,  click.  Today was a beautiful morning and my car windows were down as I drove into the little town five miles from our house.  Uh, oh, I shouldn’t be hearing a click with each rotation of the tires.  Better pull over and see what’s going on.  There were plenty of parking spots to get off the road and pull over to the curb.  I was about to keep a God appointment I didn’t know I had.  Mercifully, the long screw sticking out of my tire at an angle was easily visible since the tire had stopped at the perfect place to see the culprit.  And thankfully the affected tire was on the curb side.  What to do?  Dear Husband was 20 miles away doing his rotation of volunteering at the food distribution warehouse that aids low-income families and he couldn’t leave. 

Just then a young woman who was walking for exercise came up and asked if I was ok.  She was genuinely concerned when I told her my problem.  She suggested I go across the street to the auto parts store because they had been helpful to her when she had an incident in front of their store.  Then she said something that made my heart sing.  “I don’t know how to help, but I could pray for you and your tire.”  Of course, I assured her I’d very much appreciate her praying.  So she did, right there on the sidewalk with her eyes open.  That began a wonderful conversation about what she’s been learning about Jesus since a serious brain injury 1 1/2 years ago from which she is still recovering.  Her walking which I had interrupted was part of her continuing therapy of rebuilding what was lost.  Wow!  Talk about a conversation that just lifted me up!  Here she stood, telling me how God had helped her understand more about him in this difficult trial.  Instead of being beaten down, she glowed.  It’s been a long, hard path coming back and the road is still stretching out in front of her.  But she is happy and confident and strong.  She told me about losing most of her friends and nearly her husband after the accident.  She was so limited physically, mentally, and emotionally that those around her struggled to deal with her.  She couldn’t speak, remember things, read, tell time, process conversations, or stand bright light and loud noises.   She recalled the doctor’s office who scolded her for being late although she tried to explain that numbers on a clock didn’t have meaning for her.  Her friends quit calling because she could only process a few sentences of conversation at a time.  Her husband was tempted to leave her, but God intervened in a miraculous way one day while she was in anguished prayer for him.  Scripture tumbled out of her as we talked.  She had found strength in God’s words and she was quick to share them.  Before she went on her way, she prayed for me again and my family.  I wasn’t embarrassed to bow my head right there in town with tears on my face while she called out to the God who is so faithful to her on behalf of an old lady having a bad day.  I’ll take a screw in a tire any day to meet such a faith-boosting young woman!

I was able to call Husband and he agreed that I should go across the street and ask the auto parts store to get the screw out which was protruding two inches.  He said I shouldn’t drive on that much screw sticking out of the tread.  Upon hearing my story, the man at the auto parts store grabbed his channel-lock pliers and went across the street with me to see if he could help.  He managed to pry the screw out and there was no sound of escaping air.  I decided to try to make it the two miles to our local tire store.  Once safely at the tire store, I thought my adventures were done for the day.  But God had one more appointment for me.  While waiting for the repair, a gentleman whom I guessed to be about my age came in.  The place was hopping with customers but there was a vacant chair near mine.  We struck up a conversation and quickly found some common ground.  After some small talk, he offered, “You’re a Christian, aren’t you?  So am I.”  And that lead into him sharing his story of how Jesus delivered him from drugs 30 years prior. After losing his wife, his kids, his house, his car and his job because of his addictions, this man cried out to God in his despair.  “If you exist, God, I need you.”  And immediately a friend came to mind who had radically changed recently.  The man went to his friend’s house and spilled out his hurts.   The friend invited him to a home Bible study where he had a life-changing encounter with Jesus.  So for the second time today the tears came as I listened to another story of the tender love of God being poured out for the person’s good and God’s glory.  No one hearing and seeing what I heard and saw today would argue that God listens to everyone who calls on his name.

These are some of the favorite verses of the young woman who stopped to help me.  She said through her long recovery process she kept repeating part of the first verse that says, “we never give up.”  I thought I’d share the verses with you.  

“Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up.  We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing.  Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 

You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.”  2 Corinthians 4:1-7