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 looked 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 that
chill which only fears 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 café. 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
youreally want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of
love end with you.' Under the napkin was four more $100.
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
whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan
Anderson.' There is an old saying. 'What goes around comes around.' God works
in mysterious ways and sometimes puts people in our lives for a reason.
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