The Magic Pliers

We were blessed with an extra large trailer to carry some of our house stuff to Greenville N.C. We are officially moving there to partner with Discovery Church and figured if we were driving all the way up there (12 hr drive) we might as well bring some stuff with us.

So here we are in north Florida driving down I-10, only 3 hrs into our trip when, POP!, Thud, Thud, Thud...we get a flat tire on the trailer. I see rubber pieces flying from the wheel well, so I decide to pull over right away, in the middle of nowhere.

I thought to myself that this is fairly routine, I have fixed a million tires in my day and we should be back on the road in 15 minutes. That was until I discovered the spare tire was secured to the trailer by a homemade bracket with 2 little nuts and washers. At that point I got a little frustrated because I knew that I forgot my tools at home and it would be 2 hours before AAA could help us (thanks grandpa) and at least that much time for Cessie to go to the local parts store to get me a wrench or pliers and to return safely to the middle of nowhere. I didn't want to get a ticket for abandoning the trailer so I decided to unlatch the hitch and send the wifey on a tool-searching adventure while I waited with the trailer.

Just as I had the SUV unhitched, I noticed some men on the other side of the 6 lane interstate trying to cross and coming right towards us. I was a little concerned because they looked homeless and dirty, so I told Cessie to get behind the wheel and take off if they attacked me or tried to get into the car. I was not scared but very leary and guarded.

The first man greeted me with a smile and asked if I needed some help. I told him of my tool-less dilemma and basically tried to send them on their way. Here is where the story gets interesting...After explaining my situation the guy looked puzzled and he kind of smirked. He said "That is a funny coincidence. I was walking along the side of the interstate and stumble upon these PLIERS, they were just on the side of the road. I didn't need them and really didn't want to carry them but something told me they would be useful. So here you go, these must be yours."

WHAT?! God sent a homeless, hitchhiker with black teeth and stinky clothes to give me a pair of pliers to fix my flat tire! Better yet, they helped change the tire and did most of the work to get me back on the road.

I only boast in Christ because God has done this throughout our life. We are so blessed to follow Jesus. He is interested in the seemingly little aspects of our lives. God is big, but He is oh so close.