Surprised By Joy
by Steve Goodier
Sometimes fact is more mysterious than fiction. I clipped a
newspaper article several years ago which tells a story that is
strange... and beautiful.
Stan heard in church about a Denver, Colorado (USA) family facing
a rather bleak Christmas holiday. Medical bills robbed them of
any extras; they would not even have a tree. Stan’s pastor asked
him if he would get them that tree.
So Stan and his son Jay headed up into the Colorado Rockies in
the family pickup. However, the truck skidded off the icy road
and hit a boulder that shattered the windshield. Jay was showered
by glass slivers and suffered from shock and crash trauma. Stan
was uninjured, though somewhat shaken.
Cars sped past that day -- maybe 200 of them. Only two stopped to
help. A gentle, dark-haired woman took the boy into her car to
comfort him while her husband and another man helped Stan move
his truck off the road. Then this kind couple drove father and
son to Stan's home and quietly left without identifying
themselves.
Stan was discouraged that he was unable to cut a tree for the
family that his church was trying to help. But later in the
month, the pastor asked if Stan might deliver a food basket to
the same unfortunate family. He found the house, but he could
hardly find his speech when the door opened. For standing there
before him was the same couple who had stopped to help him on the
mountain road when so many others had passed him by.
There is a strange power in love. Some folks may call it an
amazing coincidence. Others might say it was divine providence.
But I choose to think that love has its own power, and that
sometimes these kinds of mysteries are better left unanalyzed.
Let them remain mysteries. And enjoy the wonder of it all. For
whenever we choose to be kind, we just might be surprised by joy.
__________
Steve Goodier
Publisher@LifeSupportSystem.com is a professional
speaker, consultant and author of numerous books. Visit his site
for more information, or to sign up for his FREE newsletter of
Life, Love and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com.