We're shopping for a car to replace my ailing truck. Yesterday we visited CarMax just to sit in a few different models that may be of interest to see whether they're even comfortable, before dealing with a full-blown test drive. This was particularly the case yesterday as we went out while the temperature was about 25 degrees and it was snowing, so there was no test-driving going on.
To get to Laurel from Ellicott City took much longer than it should have, with people driving 20 mph on I-95, which was merely wet with very light snow falling and lots of cars to melt it off the roadway. Talk about annoying!
We skipped the highway on our way home and took back roads. The back roads were covered in a dusting of snow (covered, but by less than an inch of snow) but they were hilly and curvy. We started down a hill only to see a large gathering of vehicles with their flashers on at the bottom.
"Abort! Abort!" we decided. There was one driveway along the hill so we turned around in it and tried to get back up the hill to go a different way. Unfortunately, we couldn't get back up the hill. Our newly-tired front-wheel drive with traction control van couldn't go anywhere but sideways. Andy and I know how to drive in the snow (really, we do) so we were a bit surprised to find that we were unable to negotiate getting started up the hill. There was a van identical to ours that turned around just after us and got stuck just ahead of us on the hill.
We tried various maneuvers for about 10 minutes before a diesel-engine, dual-rear-wheel Chevrolet truck came by and asked if we needed assistance. You bet! Andy helped him get his tire chains on and hook up the chain to the front of the van. While they were doing this I was wishing we were in his position, being able to help people so practically. I tried to imagine who he was - what kind of job does he do that he has such a truck, is he just out for something else and found all these people in need, etc. I thought through the outward-focused service mindset that our church is really working on and wondered where this man's desire (or at least willingness) to serve came from.
I saw he had some of those "awareness ribbon" magnets on his tailgate and I assumed they were war/military-related. I squinted to read them and could make out only the first and third ones which said, "Support Farting" and "Support Lap Dancing."
I'm going out on a limb to assume that he probably doesn't get his willingness to serve from feeling full of the Holy Spirit. But I could be wrong.
3 comments:
The ending of this email was so surprising and funny that my abs were hurting so bad for all my laughing (granted I just exercised yesterday for the first time in a very long time and sitting up makes them hurt).
Surprising is the right word for my reaction as well - not surprised that someone with different values than me would feel led to serve, just that my mind was going in a very different direction from the place that reality crash-landed in front of it.
I think you should get one of those magnets too! :-)
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