(June 28, 2014 at 12:01 pm)Lek Wrote: I was stationed at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota after a few years of living in drunkenness and sexual promiscuity while I was overseas. While there I began hanging out with some christian guys and eventually decided to follow Christ and also got married. When my enlistment ended we decided to drive back to my home in Pennsylvania and "see the country." Well, we were young and, I admit, not very bright and we set off in an old car I had bought there - a French Simca. The wheels were a weird, small size, and I had no spare tire and no extra money.
It was nighttime somewhere in Nebraska when I had my first flat. We were just standing along highway wondering what we would do when a guy pulled up behind us and offered his help. We removed the flat tire and he drove us to a garage where he bought us coffee while they fixed tire. We drove back and put the tire on and he gave us his flashlight because we didn't have one.
We were somewhere in Illinois, I believe, when we had the second flat - the rear right. Again, we were standing beside the highway wondering what to do when a state cop pulled up behind us. I told him the situation and about the weird size tires. Try to find a tire for a Simca in the midwest! He took us to a junkyard and the guy went into a large barn type structure, fished around for awhile, and came out with two used tires on rims, just the right size. The cop drive us back to the car where I replaced the tire and we took off.
I think it was somewhere in Indiana or Ohio where we had the third flat tire. It had blown out on the sidewall, the same as the second flat and I was concerned that something was causing the rim to heat up and cause the tire to blow. We had been on the road for two days and had spent most of our money, so all we could do was to drive straight through. I don't know if the rim was actually heating up and causing the tires to blow or not, but soon it started pouring the rain and continued to rain from wherever we were in Ohio until we pulled into my parents driveway in Pennsylvania.
We ate something and went to bed because we had driven all night. After I woke up, I went downstairs and looked out and saw that the right rear tire had gone flat in the driveway while we had slept.
I've always believed that God wanted to show that he would be with me and he always has been. That was God with me.
That's a beautiful story about people helping strangers. But the supposition that god was with you is a little odd. I've had similar kindness from strangers from time to time. My response has been to try to good in the world too.
If there is a god, I want to believe that there is a god. If there is not a god, I want to believe that there is no god.
