Right Place, Right Time
February 3, 2009
Dear Dave,
I have been attending the Vineyard for about a year and a half. I can’t even begin to express the difference the church and the amazing people who are part of it have made in my life. I found VCC through a friend shortly after the end of my second marriage, following a couple of very long years living with an alcoholic.
One of the biggest changes that I have seen in myself is that I have stopped spending so much time thinking about me. I have gotten involved with several of the serving opportunities that VCC offers, but I kept waiting for that chance for God to use me to make a difference. I read your book and would talk with other people who had been in a situation where they were able to pay for someone else’s meal, help them carry-in their groceries…you know what I mean, but I never seemed to be in the right place at the right time.
Last week, my sister and I were on our way to Good Sam Hospital to visit our mother who was having some heart problems. My sister was driving and needed to stop for gas. I was sitting in the passenger seat while she was out pumping the gas when a beat-up old “boat” of a car pulled in next to us. I glanced out my window and noticed that there were blankets and pillows piled on one side of the backseat. I watched a woman get out of the driver’s seat and go in to the gas station/convenience store. After a few minutes, she came storming out ranting about them not allowing her to pay for her gas the way she wanted, that she didn’t want to pump the gas first, that she was broke and how was she supposed to pay for the gas, etc. Her language may have been just a bit more colorful.
I sat there for a minute thinking that I was a little uncomfortable with the hostility that the woman had displayed, but also feeling sympathetic to her situation. I have certainly been there before! When my sister got back in the car, I knew that I couldn’t just let her drive away and leave this woman to deal with her situation without doing anything, so I asked her to hold on a second.
All I had in my wallet was a $10 dollar bill, but I grabbed it and told my sister I would be right back. I got out of the car and walked over to the woman just as she was bending over to put the nozzle into her car and reached out my hand. She hadn’t seen me coming and I could tell by her jump that I had startled her. I smiled and put the money into her hand and told her that I couldn’t help but overhear, and that I had been there, too. I told her that God loves her, wished His blessings on her and got back into my sister’s car.
I don’t know if that $10 made any difference, but I did see a smile cross her face before we pulled away.
I thanked God for putting me in the right place, at the right time, and I just wanted to thank you for inspiring in me the courage to step out of my comfort zone to follow His lead.
K. B.
