Paying it Forward
Posted by admin
November 29, 2008
Mary Joyce’s husband is in the Army, and many years ago, when he received orders for Korea, the family decided to drive from Virginia back to Idaho. Mary’s in-laws were there, so she and the children would not be alone. Most of the trip was normal, and went smoothly, as Mary and her husband shared the driving. It was November, so Mary was grateful that the weather was fine most of the way.

“Then we drove into Wyoming,” Mary remembers. “It had been snowing on and off throughout our trip, but suddenly we could see nothing but snow. The roads were covered in ice, and the turns were narrow. We didn’t have much money, so we couldn’t afford to stop for the night.”

It was Mary’s turn to drive, and she went very slowly. By 2 a.m., it seemed as if theirs was the only car on the winding road. Suddenly a semi came up from behind, tires kicking up a lot of snow. “I guess the driver was in a hurry, because he decided to pass us,” Mary says. “I had a really strange feeling, so I glanced over to my left, just in time to see that he wasn’t giving himself enough room to pass. His trailer was about two inches away from hitting us.”

Mary had no choice but to drive into the emergency lane. But it was too icy, and she slid off the road down an small embankment on the ice covered grass. She managed to miss the mile markers, and somehow lurch to a stop before hitting a fence. “I found out the hard way how slippery ice-covered grass can be!”

The family sat for a moment, in shock and relief. No one seemed to be hurt. But the truck had disappeared, and once again they were alone. Mary pushed away her rising panic. How were they going to get the car up the embankment and back on the road if, in fact, it was still drivable? And if they couldn’t, what would happen to them, stuck here in this isolated freezing area?

Almost immediately, however, another semi pulled safely into the emergency lane. A female trucker hopped out, just an ordinary person, Mary says, “but she calmed us down right away. She and my husband pushed the car up onto the road while Mary steered. In a matter of moments, their problem was solved.

“Oh, thank you!” Mary exclaimed. “If you hadn’t come along…”

“No problem!” the trucker beamed. “I’ll radio behind so other truckers can watch out for you, in case anything else happens.” With a wave, she pulled away.

The Joyces pulled away too, both silent for the moment. There was something a little…odd about this experience, but neither knew exactly what it was. Mary’s husband finally spoke. “You know, she did most of the pushing.”

“She did? But she didn’t look very big…”

“The car kept sliding on the ice, especially when we went up that little embankment. I could hardly move it.”

The next few hours passed without a problem. And then, as the family neared Evansville, Wyoming, the car’s alternator went out. Lights started dimming, and they slowly lost power. Up ahead was a freeway exit, and Mary’s husband turned into it. By now, the power was completely off, but somehow they glided into town. There was a McDonald’s down the road, closed and darkened,

“We waited a while for them to open,” Mary says, “and then I hiked down the street to get some food (our emergency snack supplies were just about gone).” Mary also called her in-laws from the McDonald’s pay phone. They assured her they would pay for the car expenses, but how long would it take? And where were they going to stay while they waited? It was so cold here, and what she hadn’t mentioned to her in-laws was that they had only about twenty dollars left…. She blinked back tears.

Just then, an elderly man dressed in cowboy garb, came up to the pay phone. “I heard you talking about your car,” he said, without introducing himself. “I’d like to help, if you’d let me.” With that, he handed Mary a little roll of money. “This should be enough to feed your family and get you all out of the cold.”

“But…how will I pay you back?” Mary asked, startled.

“Just pass it on,” the man answered.

Mary accepted the little wad, but didn’t count it until she was back to their car. “After I was settled I counted the money and saw that he had given us $70,” which was a lot of money in those days. How had he known how much they needed it? Immediately, they rented a motel room and had the car towed. It truly was yet another blessing…

…Because a larger storm followed on the heels of this one, and the freeway was closed in Wyoming, and through much of Utah, causing many accidents (including fatalities). If they hadn’t broken down, they would have been continued on, and been caught in it all. Instead, the car was ready on the day the roads reopened, and the Joyces arrived safely home.

“I’m not sure how many people would consider our story angelic,” Mary says today. “But I do. If nothing else, it shows that human kindness still exists and God works in mysterious ways.” Mary never wastes an opportunity to help someone else either. With Be An Angel Day approaching soon (August 22), we might all start lpaying it forward.

(C) 2005 Joan Wester Anderson www.joanwanderson.com