"One
day a man saw an 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 those chills 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 going to be
all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.' "
©
HALO MINISTRIES, P. O. BOX
771, BRUNSWICK, OHIO 44212-0771
