(Call Out) What You Can Do

Move on down the road in style.

Best of All . . .

If we have learned anything in our situation, it is that God answers prayer. Many times it is not how or when we want the answer, many times it is better.

I have been praying for a motorcycle so that I would have a vehicle if needed to buzz up to the store for something while our 16-year-old, Matt, was driving our van. Marcy was praying a more sensible prayer – a car for Matt. God knows what He is doing

A few weeks ago Marcy’s Mom called to tell her that Aunt Elinore had died. She was in her nineties and we had known it was close to her time for a little while, so it wasn’t a total shock, but it was still sad.

I never got to meet Elinore. Others in the family tell me I didn’t miss much. She wasn’t a happy, fun-loving person. She didn’t like many people, even family members. But she always liked Marcy and she was one of Marcy’s favorite Aunts.

Marcy always sees the best in other people. She seems to be drawn to people who are “socially challenged.” She doesn’t judge or try to change them, but accepts them as they are and, maybe because of that, they share things with her that they don’t normally share.

When Marcy and I were dating, we went to one of her friend’s weddings in Chicago. It was the first time I had met the friend and I thought she was one of the rudest people I had ever met. She had been one of Marcy’s best friends earlier in Marcy’s life.

Earlier in life Marcy had spent a lot of time with Aunt Elinore and Elinore mentored Marcy in many areas, including organizational skills and how to handle money. Aunt Elinore had a lot to do with making Marcy who she is.

Marcy’s Mom asked if we wanted Elinore’s car: a 1989 Fleetwood Cadillac. The car only had 65,000 miles on it and had never been more that 50 miles from Elinore’s home. It had new tires and everything worked. It had literally only been driven by an elderly woman to and from the grocery store. It was an answer to Marcy’s prayer.

The only catch was that Elinore’s home was in Long Island, New York. We needed to find a way to get the car 961 miles to Tennessee. That’s when Marcy thought of Garland.

Garland is the polar opposite of socially challenged. His exuberant personality reaches out and wins many people, so Garland has lots of friends. He is also (not coincidentally) a Spirit-filled Christian and a mighty prayer warrior - he prays for lots of people and many people tell him their needs. So we asked Garland if he knew anyone in need of a job that might be willing to make the drive for a little money. He said he would pray about it.

It only took a couple of days for him to call back and tell us that his wife Gretel, in her prayer time, was told to buy an airline ticket for Garland to fly to New York and drive the car back for us. This was much more than we expected. Matthew 5:41 reads “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” We didn’t compel him to go a mile, yet he flew and drove over 2,000 miles for us, driving through the night and spending over 24 hours of his life dedicated to this one favor for us. Every time we thank him, he thanks us for the opportunity to serve.

And, of course, Matt and all his friends love the car. Though it was born the same year Matt was, the car has lots of extras that most cars still don’t have today. It is maroon with deep, red leather seats that one of his friends said, “swallow you up.” It has an on-board computer that tells fuel economies and ranges. His friends discovered the lighted vanity mirrors for passengers in the back seat. And Matt has a little gizmo that plugs into the cassette deck that lets him listen to his iPod through the car’s stereo, so he has all of his music at his fingertips.

I’m not sure Aunt Elinore would approve of Matt’s taste in music, but everyone in the family tells us that she would certainly be happy that the car is able to help her favorite Marcy.

If you know someone in need, it would probably be difficult to go a couple of thousand miles for them, but you can do something more than expected. You can help them get much further down their physical and spiritual path.

Every Day Is Precious is a column to remind us to treat everyone we see today as if it could be the last time we see them. It is written by Rob Payne, whose wife, Marcy, was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in August of 2000. Now 42 years old, she has gone from winning 5 and 10K races to being quadriplegic and on a ventilator at home. For a collection of these columns in book form, more ways to help others, more about Marcy, or to receive email updates on her condition, visit www.EveryDayIsPrecious.com. Readers may contribute to her care by sending donations to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN, 37069.

If you have helped someone without being asked, or know of someone who has, share it with others. Send to rob@everydayisprecious.com or to Every Day Is Precious, 2051 Harvington Drive, Franklin, TN. 37069.