A Deeply Loving Story

From the internet

He was driving home one evening, on a two-lane country road. Work in this small Midwestern community was almost as slow as his old beat-up Pontiac. But he never quit looking. Ever since the factory closed he’d been unemployed and with winter raging on the chill had finally hit home.

It was a lonely road. Not very many people had a reason to be on it; unless they were leaving town. Most of his friends had already left. They had families to feed and dreams to fulfill. But he stayed on. After all, this was where he buried his mother and father. He was born here and he knew the country. He could go down this road blind and tell you what was on either side, and with his headlights not working, this came in handy. It was starting to get dark and light snow flurries were coming down. He’d better get a move on.

So it was not surprising 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 she was frightened, standing out there in the cold and knew how she felt. It was that bone-chill which only fear can put in you. Smiling and putting out his hand, he said, “It’s okay, I’m here to help you ma’am. Why don’t you wait in your car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan.”

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an older 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 scuffed hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she put down the window and began to talk to him. She told him she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through and could not thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. She asked him how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right, she said appreciatively having already imagined all the awful things that might have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about the money. 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 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 “Éand think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold, jobless and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the older 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 way of life. The cash register was like the telephone of an out-of-work actor — it didn’t ring much. Her waitress came over and brought a fresh clean towel to dry her wet hair and brought the food with a kind word. She had a sweet smile, but even its sweetness couldn’t erase the weariness one could see on her face from being on her feet the whole day. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The visitor wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the she finished her meal, and the waitress went to get change for her rarely seen hundred dollar bill, she slipped out the door, and was down the road by the time the waitress came back. Wondering where the lady could be, she noticed something written on the napkin. She picked up the napkin and found four $100 bills underneath. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the visitor wrote. It said: “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 and kindness end with you.”

Well, there were greasy 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 woman 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, “I feel everything’s gonna be all right; I love you, Bryan.” ¤

Today, I send you this story, now I am asking you to pass it on... Let the Light Shine. Don’t put it under a basket. Please pass this on to a friend — or many friends — as I have with you! A gift from a friend on the internet!

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