It wasn't until I had a craving for something that wasn't in my kitchen that I ended up going out. I threw on some jeans and one of my "look good with anything" jackets, and to Smoothie King I went. (Their Apple Kiwi Kale is AMAZING!)
As I was leaving Smoothie King, I thought of some things that I should pick up from the grocery store since I was already out. I had to pass the grocery store to get home, so why not stop? I ran in, got what I needed, and got back in the car to make the less-than-3-minute drive back to my house.
I turned the key in the ignition, but the car wouldn't start. I didn't even give it a second thought to just go ahead and start it up again because my car, in all of its 10 years with me, had NEVER given me any major problems. Outside of regular maintenance, it's been good to me. I knew nothing was wrong. I was even a little arrogant about it. I said to my friend who I was on the phone with the whole time, "I'm just gon' give it few minutes. I'm gon' sit here and just let her chill for a second and I'll try again."
I waited.
Then, after about 5 minutes, I tried to start the car up again, and nothing. That time, I noticed that the battery light was flickering a little on the dash when I tried to start it. And so it was. My battery had died right there in the grocery store parking lot. I couldn't believe it.
If it wasn't so cold that night, I would've walked right on home and had someone go and take care of the car the next day. That would've been the perfect solution, I thought. But my friend convinced me to just find someone with jumper cables, let them get my car started, and get the car to my house, at least. After sitting in the car for a bit, talking about how to do what to do, I finally decided to go into the grocery store to Customer Service and see if they could help me find someone who could get me going.
I told the young lady behind the counter that I was gonna stand right there for a second, in a place where I could see lots of customers moving about, because I needed to find someone who had some jumper cables.
She said, "I have some in my car."
I squealed! I said, "Giiirl, no you don't!"
She laughed and said, "I do. My grandmother just made me put them in my trunk too." She told me to just hang tight for a second while she finished up what she was doing. When she finished, she looked around and said, "Now we just have to find somebody to jump it."
I don't remember if the young man came along while we were still in the store or if we met him outside, but I just know that when we got outside to the girl's car, he was right there, ready to do whatever he needed to do to get my car started.
We got the jumper cables from her trunk, and as she was closing the trunk, a woman and her daughter who were parked right next to her said, "Y'all need a jump? You can use this thing my husband put in here."
She went to the back of her truck and pulled out a jumper cable box. She said that her husband had just put it in her truck THE DAY BEFORE because the truck had stopped on her a few times before. The woman and her daughter handed the box on over to the young man who was ready to help. He got right to my car, hooked up the cable, and got the car started. Unfortunately, the start up was too weak for me to even get the car in reverse. It died after about a minute or two.
I had to call someone.
I didn't want to call my brother in Christ who is sort of like a father figure because I knew after working long hours Tuesday - Friday, he loves being able to work a short day on Saturday at Manny's Service Center. Plus, he works on cars all day. I didn't want to call him to come and work on ANOTHER car. He was the last person I wanted to call, but he was the first person to come to mind.
I called him.
I explained what was going on.
He finished what he was doing at the shop.
He came to rescue me.
He had a nifty little jumper box that he uses at the shop. That thing couldn't have been bigger than a Nintendo DS! It started my car right up and had her purring like her first day. I had already determined after everything that had happened and NOT happened that I was going straight to O'Reilly Auto Parts, get the battery changed, and THEN go home. I had already called the store to make sure they were still open. They were scheduled to close in an hour.
My brother followed me over there, assisted me in the store to make sure I got a good battery and new plugs or something they said I needed on top of the battery (I'm sure that term is wrong. Ha! Whatever!), and even helped the O'Reilly technician get my new battery in the car. He didn't leave until the job was complete and I was in my fully operational car.
I was beyond grateful for the love God showed me through those people that night. I was COMPLETELY taken care of from the beginning to the end of the ordeal. I didn't even have an opportunity to become scared or frantic.
When I got home after it all, I clearly heard the Lord tell me to thank the young lady and the young man at the grocery store. He told me to love on them with His love and encourage them to continue to love others with their service. When they give of themselves as willingly as they did, they show God's kind of love to others even if they don't know Him. That was my main point in their Thank You cards. And per God's instruction, inside each Thank You card was a Walmart gift card. I couldn't wait to give it to them! I couldn't wait for them to experience the gratefulness that comes with unexpected blessings from strangers unaware.
I went back to the grocery store a couple times in the next couple weeks, but I didn't see either of them. One Saturday, though, I hit the jackpot. They were BOTH working! I gave them what I had for them and asked if they'd mind taking pictures with me to commemorate the experience. They didn't mind at all.
I only know their names because I asked. I didn't even have to know. Knowing them didn't matter. I may not ever see them again, and that won't matter either. (When I took the picture with the young man, he told me that he would only be working there a few more days. Umph, umph, umph...) What mattered was that moment. What mattered was that time. What mattered was pure, genuine humanity--the sheer desire to help others in their time of need. I haven't been the same since that experience, and I never will be. I'm grateful that God chose me to have the dead battery that night. I'm grateful to have learned a lesson in love that night--love that's shown through service.
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