Waiting

Sitting at the corner of Martin Luther King and Carpenter, my car, the Tracer Racer was paralyzed. Nothing. No sign of life. Dead.

After calling AAA I waited. The voice on the other end of the line said, "Somebody will be there in 45 minutes." Translated that means, "someone will be there when they arrive." So I sat. I waited.

20 minutes later Kurt showed up. In a gentle snow he attached the talons of the tow truck to my helpless car. It looked so small as it crawled up on the back of the flatbed tow truck.

Thinking that this little "incident" would cost several hundred dollars caused me to be distracted. Its funny how distractions can do just that. They distract us from the bigger picture, they drain our attention away from the important.

"What do you do for a living?" Kurt asked. I hate that question. It seems like it has a way of slotting you and preventing you from having any other conversations other than those related to your vocation.

Distracted by the impending costs for repairs dulled by filtering capacity. I told him what I do. He looked at me and said, "that's nice."

Then it hit me.

There was a bigger picture, a higher purpose, a grander scheme than my concern for the cost of my repair. So I talked to Kurt. He talked to me. He told me his story. He told me all the details as we rode over the increasingly snow covered road.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered Kurt was my new neighbor who moved in down the street from where I work. The conversation changed quickly. I invited him to come and visit. He seemed interested. We'll see what happens.

The cost of the repair? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. Zero.

Ron, the repair man, opened the trunk and pressed a reset button.

The car started. I left. I was thankful.

How can a car break down on the other side of town and be towed by a man who I never met before and be fixed by a repair man who was waiting for business to come in all on a snowy day?

I am not sure. But I am thankful for the 68 minute distraction that gave me an opportunity to wait on Him.

What do you do while you wait?

Just a thought!