Heroes

I need to make sure that you understand that I am not telling this story because I think that Mr. Marvelous and I did something nice.  I am telling this story because of what GOD did and how HE responded to a conversation and a prayer.  I simply want to share HIS glory with you.

There is a woodchip pile at the bottom of our hill.  My sweet brother sent it to us.  That's the subject for another day.

Monday morning (are you catching that it was Memorial Day?  Good) Mr. Marvelous and I drove The Little Red(neck) Truck to the bottom of the hill to load up chips to put on the garden.  As we were getting ready and going down I was talking to Mr. Marvelous about how much I want to find ways to put our faith to work.

We got to the bottom of the hill, dumped the bins and buckets by the pile, grabbed the rake, shovel and pitchfork, and looked up.  There on the road was a car and a motorcycle stopped.  That's unusual because the road is a fairly busy, curvy, hilly two-lane US highway.  We realized that the car was having some trouble and the motorcycle rider was trying to help him push it to the side of the road so Mr. Marvelous, being Marvelous, went to help.  I kept an eye out for on-coming traffic and they started pushing.  With the help of a few local heroes (the local Fire Chief, one of his volunteers and a deputy sheriff), we got him safely to the side of the road and then had a little country gathering.

Mr. Marvelous and I figured that things were well in hand so we finished loading wood chips and headed back home.  As I got into the car, I noticed the back seat of the young man's car seemed to have a set of Army ACUs.  Hmm.

We came home and got the chips unloaded onto the garden.  Some good friends came over for a quick visit and some chicken talk and helped us out with our egg overload (!).  After they left, we started back down the hill.  When we got there we discovered that while the motorcycle, the Chief, and the deputy had left, the young man was still sitting in his stranded car.  This is Alabama and even though it has been an unusual year weather-wise, Memorial Day is still hot around here.  So we loaded him up and brought him home.

It turns out that this young man is in the Army Reserves.  He was on his way home to Atlanta from Texas when his car died on him. 

We brought him home and did our best to take care of him.  Mr. Marvelous Jr. happened to be home, so instead of having to sit in the living room with two boring old people while he waited for his family to come and rescue him, he got to sit and visit with someone his age who shares common interests (well okay, I don't think he is a huge fan of bagpipes, but they were able to talk guns and military).

God answered not just one but two prayers of the day.

He gave us an opportunity to live our faith.

He gave us a real-live-honest-to-goodness hero to bring into our home and honor on Memorial Day.

You may not have the money to spring for a meal for a group of soldiers, and you may not find one stranded by the side of the road.  But if you see one, it can't hurt to give them a smile, a thank you, and especially the reassurance of your prayers for them and their families.

As my Dad would say, "If you are going to pray and ask God for an opportunity, be sure to be ready because He will send it!"