One for the Road

This morning I got a call from a guy I'll call Bobby. Bobby was at the truck stop at the 401 with his sister and wanted breakfast. There is a chapel at this truck stop and the chaplain had given them supper and a night at the motel. Now the two of them were looking for a morning meal before hitting the road again.

My first inclination was to say no. I told Bobby that I couldn't leave the church because of a meeting. He offered to walk into town for the cash on a morning when it was minus twelve degrees. I told him this wasn't a good idea and promised to get back to him. I drove out to the highway, talked to the chaplain to make sure that their story was legit (there are lots of scam artists out there) and then went into the restaurant to arrange for the meal. While I was at the cash register a couple from St. Vincent de Paul came in on the same mission. Bobby had been busy making calls. He told them that he was okay now, and as we left we introduced ourselves. It took me twenty minutes, maybe twenty five, in total and I wasn't all that late for my meeting.

I'm glad I went, even though I wouldn't do it every time. I was able to help this couple through the generosity of the St. Paul's congregation. I met the trucker chaplain for the first time despite having driven past the trailer with the cross on top dozens of times. I discovered that the local Roman Catholic congregation reaches out to travelers in need. The fellow from St. Vincent de Paul told me they get four or five calls a month with similar requests.

God is at work whether we know it or not.