Date: 8/12/2008
<br>Author: Devin Pickard
<br>Title: A and B
<br><br>“God will provide” are some of the most famous words found in scripture. Of course, this was the answer given by Father Abraham to his son Isaac's question about where their sacrifice would come from.  This morning, these very words showed themselves to me to not only be famous, but also very true.  After having decided to ride my motorcycle to church, I was cruising down the road trying to think of a subject for my bulletin article.  It seems like the harder I tried to think of one, the more blank my mind became.  I guess it was just one of those mornings where my episode of “writers block” decided to work overtime.  As I pondered my impending subject, while all the while asking God to provide me with one, I noticed that I was running on fumes and pulled into a gas station to fill up.  When I finished pumping the gas and then tried to start the bike....I got nothing.  I tried and tried to get that thing to turn over with absolutely no luck whatsoever.  During my futile attempts at trying to figure out what was wrong, two different people....a woman and then a man....approached me and asked if they could do anything to help.  They both said they had jumper cables  and other tools if I needed them.  I did not know who these two people were....I had never seen them before in my life.  In the same respect, they also did not know me....but this one thing they did know....I was having difficulty.  They saw someone who was terribly pitiful and looked like he didn't have a clue as to how to fix his problem....and for the most part they were right.  I told both of them that I really appreciated their offers but that I had surmised it was just a bad battery connection, which it was.  With an “Are you sure you don't need help?”, they both left and went on about their lives.  I quickly realized that God had just given me a subject for the article, or maybe I should say “provided” me a subject.  I also quickly realized that I did not even get the names of those who the article would be about....so I will just refer to them as Good Samaritan A and B.  Pretty ingenious, huh?  Seems to me like John Doe always get too much of  the glory, so I figured we would give “A and B” their shot.<br><br>Each day that we wake, we are generally greeted with bad news of some kind on every side and around every corner.  Turn on the morning television news, and there it is.  Read the front page of the newspaper, and there it is.  Listen to the radio headlines, and well, you guessed it.  Boot up your Internet home page and you'll probably find it there as well.  There is no doubt that you don't have to look very far in any direction to find something negative and depressing.  But let us not loose sight of this fact...there are still a lot of good people in the world trying to do the right thing.  There is still a lot of good news to read about, even if you have to turn a page or two to find it.  We still have a lot going on around us that can make us smile....even if we have to dig a little deeper to reveal it.  If I had any doubt about the state of mankind this morning, Samaritan A and B quickly wiped all of it away.   I  don't know if A and B got up this morning with the intentions of being a good Samaritan.  I don't know if A and B have any religious beliefs at all.  I don't know what kind of homes they were raised in or if they even believe in God.  I do know that I wished I would have taken the time to find out who they were and maybe a little more about them.  I wished I had done more than just say “Thank You” and be on my way....perhaps I let a golden opportunity slip by to be God's witness.  But the more I think about it....maybe God intended for me to be the one witnessed to.             <br><br>Tonight in my prayers I will say a special thank you to God for my new buddies, A and B.  They reminded me, once again, that life is all about being a blessing to others.  It is about taking off our blinders, whether it be down at the homeless shelter, a grocery store line, or at a gas station.  Life truly is about God first, others second, and self last.  I sure hope I see A and B again someday, but if I don't, I will sure try to follow their example of doing good deeds.  I guess you can just call me “C”.<br><br><br>Go the extra mile - Devin      <br>