Do Angels Change Tires?

Did Heather Meet An Angel?

I love the Lord, because he has heard
    my voice and my pleas for mercy.
Because he inclined his ear to me,
    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.                  (From Ps 116)

The Lord continually amazes me! Every day He shows us that He cares about every detail of our lives. In our joy, in our sorrow, in our pleasure, and in our pain the Lord makes His presence known. He gives us His peace and His comfort.

Sometimes God is looking out for us in really little ways and if we aren't paying attention, we take His mercies for granted. We saw just yesterday that He cares about things as little as a flat tire. May I tell you the story?

Yesterday I was looking for Heather to arrive here about 3:30 in the afternoon. She left Houlton around noon, headed for the University in Orono to take a CLEP test in College Composition. Whenever she has taken CLEPs before, her time limit has been 90 minutes. She finishes in about one hour and arrives here soon after. Yesterday at 4:20, there had been no word from her and we began to wonder if she was ok. I called her cell phone. No answer. Her grandfather and I were concerned after we called Stephen and Jeannie. They had heard nothing, either!

I tend to panic if people are not where they are expected to be. So I began to pace (in my mind). Thankfully, the telephone rang. "Grammie?" she said. "You called?" I told her I had called because it was getting late. Well, she did have a little problem. She was at a store around a mile from our house and had a flat tire. After letting people know she was ok, I set out to rescue her. Grampie is slowly healing from a problem with his leg, but he thought he could ride along and talk Heather through the process of changing the tire.

What a sight we must have been at the back parking lot: one incompetent old woman, an inexperienced young woman in a long skirt, and a man with one bright red leg. He was finding it difficult to figure out how to help Heather loosen the lug nuts -- he managed, but with too much effort on his part. The next question was how to place Heather's jack. "This is too tough for Gramp", I thought.

Just as I was about to suggest that we call Stephen for help, a pleasant voice said, "is everything ok here?" I turned around to see a young man standing there. I told him that Wayne had a bad leg and that Heather had never changed a tire. He offered to help. In no time the tire was changed. Our helper refused any compensation and I said to him, "I am going to pray that the Lord rewards you for your kindness to us today." He gave me a surprised look and said, "YES! Yes, I will have my reward in Heaven. Amen!"

On the way home, we talked about this young man. Is he a Christian? Maybe he is an angel. In any event the Lord sent him along to help when we had a real need. Isn't that the way God is? He saw our need and He helped us in our distress by sending someone along at just the right time.

SEQUEL: Heather went  back north today and called me when she arrived at my mother's. "Gram? I just wanted to tell you that wasn't an angel yesterday. He is just a human being." I asked her if she had seen him and she said she had. I was astonished. "When I got to the rotary turning onto Stillwater Avenue, I was stopped by the road crewman. I was the first car in the line and a white pickup came around the rotary in my direction. It was him! I never would have recognized him, but he saw me, leaned out his window, and gave me a wave."

To answer the initial question, I don't know if angels change tires. But people with kind hearts do. I hope that young man realizes that he was a real blessing to our family yesterday. And I hope that we, likewise, remember the impact of yesterday's kindness when we see another person in need of help.