I was a little frustrated to be in the tire store for the third time the week of camp. That SAME TIRE had gone flat a third time in just the few days that I was away in Alabama, and I felt like I had been changing tires all week long! I mentioned to Sue, the local tire store owner that I was headed back to Ellijay that afternoon, and she said “Well, I guess that’s why I’m here… We were supposed to be closed today.”
“Sue, why would your store be closed on a perfectly good Friday?”
She looked up at me from behind her cluttered counter, and with her eyes starting to moisten, she explained that her brother had just passed away, and that the funeral was this afternoon. She had just stopped into the store to do of couple of little things, and had gotten caught up. She should have been closed, but she just happened to be there when I pulled up again that day.
We talked for a little while. I got to know a little about Sue’s brother. She learned that I was a pastor. Over that tire store counter, we held hands and prayed together. When we were done, I was misty-eyed, too.
It was just one more chance for me to learn that every flat tire can be a divine appointment. On your most difficult day, don’t forget that somebody else is having a harder one, and that God may just want to use you to minister into someone else’s life. Smile. Listen. Be open to what God wants to do.
On the way out of the customer waiting area, a gentleman who had been sitting there stood to shake my hand as I was leaving. He said that the store had been open for him today, also… More than new tires, he needed some prayer time, also. It was the best tire store visit I ever had.