How I Made $3

Last Saturday was a busy day. The boys and I went into town to run some errands and on the way, Josh asked me if he could ride his bike when we got home. I reminded him that his tire was flat, but assured him that we would stop at Target to get a tire pump so we could pump it up. So, before heading home we did just that. After several minutes in the bike gear aisle, I chose an electric air pump. (Who needs all the work of a hand pump anyway?) We also got training wheels for Adam's two wheeler so that he could ride, too.

We went to the grocery store and post office and headed home. Before I could even get out of the car, Josh had the garage door open and was waiting for me to get the pump ready. As soon as I got the milk put away, I went outside and opened the package of our new pump. I was surprised to find that it ran from the cigarette lighter in a car, not a regular outlet. (Lesson #186 on reading labels.) I've never in my life plugged anything into a car cigarette lighter, and when I plugged in the pump and turned on the switch nothing happened. (Who knew that the car had to be on?) The look of disappointment on Josh's face was unbearable, so we loaded 3 bikes (their two-wheelers and Adam's tricycle just in case the training wheels didn't work) into the back of the van and headed north to the gas station in the closest "town." We drove around the building with no air station in sight, when at last there it was. The boys were so happy. And so was I. If I went through all this and they still didn't get to ride their bikes I don't know what I would have done.

I was through about 3 of the 7 tires I had to fill when a lady parked two spots away from me and started walking toward me. She asked, "Are you good at that?" I smiled and answered, "I can get air in the tires." She said, "My front tire is low and I usually get more air out than in. My daughter usually does it for me, but I think my tire is really low. Could you check it for me?" Of course I obliged and stopped what I was doing and headed toward her car. The air hose was tangled and I had to get it untangled so that it would reach her car. The hose was dirty, so I was too by the time I was finished. We used her guage to check her tire and it was so low that it didn't even register. She said it needed to have 30 lbs. of air, so we aired it up and checked it until it got there. She kept thanking me over and over and saying how glad she was that I was there. Then she said something that didn't strike me as significant until later. She said, "You are such a Godsend." She also offered to give me something for helping her, but I refused. As I finished airing up the bike tires, though, she came over and gave me $3 to "buy a treat for the boys."

It wasn't until I was driving home that I began to think about what had happened that afternoon. Maybe I really was a Godsend. Maybe He sent me to that place at that time to help that woman. All the circumstances of the day had led me there. One little change and I wouldn't have been there to help her air up a tire that I have since found out was dangerously low to drive on. I pray daily for God to use me and I think that Saturday was one of those wonderful times when I realized just how He chose to do so. So as I drove home, I got tears in my eyes and said a prayer thanking Him for the opportunity to serve and asking him to care for the lady in the car.

So I returned home with full bike tires, $3, and dirty hands. But that day, and I hope everyday, they were my Father's hands.