What Goes Around, Comes Around
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He almost didn't see the 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
was 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 fear 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 he
way, my name is Joe."
Well, all she had was a flat tire,
but for an old lady, that was bad
enough. Joe 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. Joe 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.
Joe 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 Joe
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 cafe. 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 Joe."
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 you really want to pay me
back, here is what you do: Do not
let this chain of love end with
you."
Under the napkin were four more $100
bills.
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 very hard. She knew how
worried her husband was, and as he
lay sleeping next to her, she gave
him a soft kiss and whispered soft
and low,
"Everything's gonna be all right. I
love you, Joe."
There is an old saying "What goes
around comes around."
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Author Known To God
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