Compassionate Service

We met daddy after work for dinner so Brian could use his token for a free shake at "The Purple Cow" that he received after his visit to the dentist. We had a fun dinner, Brian chose a double chocolate shake, which he later declared was too chocolaty, Emily got the classic purple shake, and Eddie and I split a chocolate.

I wanted to run across the parking lot to the mattress store to ask a question about twin size mattresses, while Eddie paid the check. On my way a group of teens approached me and asked if I had jumper cables. I wasn't sure, but told them my husband and kids were on their way out from dinner and to check with him.

When I came back, Eddie had already moved the car to help jump their jeep. It took some maneuvering of cars to get them positioned correctly so the jumper cables would reach the batteries. But once they got them connected, the dead jeep started right up, and we headed out of the parking lot.

Unfortunately, the jeep didn't make it through the first light before it died again. Once again we stopped and helped get them on their way. We watched as they made their way through the light and headed down the street, but just as we started to turn and head home, we noticed that they pulled into a nearby parking lot.

Eddie and I were in separate cars, and he motioned for me to turn around. We drove into the parking lot to find the jeep was dead again. Eddie figured the battery was bad. They were just in Little Rock for the day, and lived a couple of hours away. He offered to drive them to the auto parts store to test the battery, so they wouldn't have to sit in the hot parking lot waiting for help.

I think they were a little reluctant, since they didn't know us, and they were young and far from home. But they went to the auto parts store, got a new battery, and Eddie suggested that they return back to the auto parts store, and have them test the alternator before they head home.

Hopefully, they made it home and all turned out well for them. I am thankful for my husbands example of compassionate service this day. Even though we had other things we wanted to be doing, it felt good helping someone else in need. I know this is also a good example to my children as well. Eddie also found out that one of the girls was from Utah, and some of her family was LDS but they had not been to church in awhile. Maybe this day she will find deeper meaning in this simple act of service.