Another Chance

It's a Calgary springtime.  I've been looking at snowflakes out my living room window last couple of days.  I remember my trucking years (Funny how this retired preacher has only road dreams during this stay-at-home Covid-19 time!).  The following was written a number of years ago.  I've left the date intact for my readers of the scholarly persuasion!  Something quite applicable here for my life, for anybody's life.  I still get a lump in my throat five years down the pike.  😔

 December 18, 2015

GRATITUDE

He jumps out of his truck

Big strong arms encircle my back.

He presses with gratitude, the hug full of emotion.

With a tear in his weary face, he jumps back into driver’s seat.

“Thank you so very much.  I’m so outa here,”

and his truck beats a hasty exit out the yard.

In slow motion I get the picture.

His truck got frozen into place in the cold overnight temperature,

even as mine had in my corner of this yard.

Only he did more fighting with circumstance, more spinning of wheels

thus digging a hole which held him even when brakes finally released.

Other truckers had refused to pull him – why?

Maybe because he was black; maybe because he was agitated;

maybe because he had no tow hooks, and as I told him

“If I pull you there is a possibility of me damaging your truck."

He was in trouble, and desperate.

I could not resist his plea for a pull, please.

With my truck carefully in place, tow hooks installed, and tow rope carefully attached,

A few smart tugs, and he is free of the holes, truck sitting high and ready.

An air of celebration erupts as bystanders appreciate my risk

and a bumper that did not tear apart!

He was free of his trouble – at least for now.

I sympathize with his lack of experience.

I rejoice with his good fortune to have met a trucker like me!

And then a familiar scripture comes to mind,

So if you think you are standing, watch out that you do not fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12

Lest I become too exhilarated or self-righteous, another picture comes to mind.  Only the day before, way back up the mountain on the other side of the Snoqualmie Pass, on the other side of the snow and the ice, just after I had successfully mounted tire chains, I avoided stopping to help a distraught overweight inexperienced trucker who obviously was unable to get the job done.  He was going nowhere with his half-mounted chains.  I looked the other way.   I had to get going because I had already wasted too much time on mine!

Maybe God gave me an opportunity to make up for something I didn’t do yesterday. Thank you Lord.