My car broke down over the weekend. My son-in-law, Carlos helped me fix it. He discovered my oil needed changing. While he worked on it, he sent me to Walmart to get oil and a filter.
The automotive section had closed. I stared at the myriad of choices in oil filters, confused about which one to buy. I had used the machines but I couldn’t find the number they recommended.
I spotted a man and his family who turned down my aisle. I reached out and asked if he knew how to figure it out. He didn’t know but his teenage son stepped up and pulled out his iPhone. He asked me the make, model and year of the car and began to search.
They had about 7 or 8 in their family of teenage and adult children. The whole family stood there in the aisle with me for about 20 minutes as we tried to figure it out. Finally, the young man found the right one and handed it to me.
I smiled with delight, “Thank you very much!” I turned to the mother, “Your family is so awesome the way you stayed with me. You all were so persistent! God bless you and your family!”
Their determination to help me and their perseverance touched me. I am a total stranger to them but they would not give up until they figured what I needed.
To me this represents the American Spirit at its best, helping each other in times of need not only big ways but small ways.
I realized once again these are values worth preserving. We need to carry on our heritage of loving God first and showing care for our neighbor. To heal our nation, we need to return to the values that made us a great nation.