No Brakes!

Monday morning I said goodbye to my father- and mother-in-law as they left to travel the long distance back to their home. Then I got into my RAV4 to do some shopping for Children's Church this Sunday. When I tried to stop at a red light, my brakes wouldn't work properly. I applied pressure, but there was an opposing force. My brake pedal wouldn't go down. Then the vehicle lurched forward and finally the brakes worked. This is the second time it has happened to me since I have bought the vehicle, so I decided to forget the shopping and drive the vehicle to the Toyota dealership where I bought the RAV4. I didn't make it there. The next time I tried to stop, I was unable to do so at all. Instead, I gained power and to avoid hitting the vehicle in front of me, I ended up on the shoulder in a very large mud puddle. Nothing was slowing me down. I had no choice but to shift the accelerating vehicle into park, (my poor engine) and turned the ignition off.

I didn't have a cell phone, so I got out of my vehicle and stood outside it, looking stunned and walking aimlessly around. I was too far from home to even consider walking; plus it was raining. (It has been raining here forever it seems.) I also didn't have a coat on, so I was getting drenched. I didn't see the advantage of staying in my vehicle. I wasn't too happy with it at the moment. Then finally a middle-age man saw my distress and stopped in his work truck. When he got out, the first thing I noticed was that he had a shirt on advertising a pub. I thought, "Great! He's probably hung over." I was wrong! The man turned out to be very nice. He gave me his cell phone to use, after dialing 411 for the Toyota dealership's phone number. Then when I phoned the dealership and explained what happened, the lady who answered said that she was too busy at the moment to help. She asked for my phone number so that she could call me back later. I gave up and hopelessly ended the call. The perturbed man then phoned the dealership himself and demanded immediate action. (I guess I was either too polite or a woman, or maybe both.) Anyways, I got action. A tow truck was sent pronto and my RAV4 is now in their shop.

As of yet, the Toyota service department is unable to figure out exactly the problem: most likely a computer malfunction. To make things worse, the brakes worked correctly when they took the RAV4 for a test drive: it is intermittent as to when the brakes fail. If they ask another dumb question, I just might not be so polite. "Did you press the brake pedal all the way to the floor?" "Are you sure it wasn't just the anti-lock brakes?" "Maybe the floor mat bunched up underneath the brake pedal?" How stupid do they think I am?

Anyways, the moral of the story is: a man that I would have considered the least likely to stop to help me did. He wasn't a friend of mine, or a relative, or a Christian. He was a complete stranger, taking his time to help me. I was reminded of the "Good Samaritan Story" in the Bible. When a Jewish man was severely beaten and robbed, it was not the Priest, nor the Levite that stopped to help him, but a Samaritan (who generally despised Jews in those days) that stopped to help the injured man.

Many people drove by me as I stood outside my RAV4 before this man stopped to help. I don't know the occupations of the other drivers, or whether they had relationships with God or not. All I know is this man, wearing a shirt advertising alcohol, stopped to help me. I told him he was my "Good Samaritan" and thanked him. I also said a prayer for him, that God would bless him and make Himself known to him.

"'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your

strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.'"

Luke 10:27

The man in the truck who stopped to help me was loving his neighbour. May we also follow his example and take time to help someone in need, for it is the will and heart of God.

After heavy rains, I took this picture of a rainbow, reminding me that in the midst of a storm there can be a beautiful moment. My "Good Samaritan" was a beautiful moment!