We were only an hour into our 3,000-mile, cross-country trek to my family reunion in North Carolina.<\/p>\n
Already, bored voices from the backseat of our old, un-air-conditioned Dodge Dart were pleading: \u201cAre we there yet?\u201d Driving wasn\u2019t the fastest route to our destination, but it was the cheapest.<\/p>\n
My husband, Jeff, and I had planned this trip for months, mapping it from our home in eastern Washington, highlighting campgrounds along the way. I couldn\u2019t wait to catch up with relatives and show off Christy, our newest addition at 18 months old.<\/p>\n
At least she wasn\u2019t crying in her car seat\u2014yet. Her sisters, LeeAnne, seven, and Kellye, five, were already complaining.<\/p>\n
Even reaching this point\u2014doing laundry, packing, planning snacks and car activities\u2014hadn\u2019t been easy. We\u2019d left right after church, midday on a Sunday, the minister\u2019s sermon on turning our worries over to God still fresh in my mind. That might have worked for someone who wasn\u2019t carting three kids on a road trip in a car with 165,000 miles on it and an unsettling tendency to slip out of gear.<\/p>\n
The Dart rode so low to the ground that we held our breath over speed bumps. Plus, I had to watch our pennies and keep us on schedule. All those breaks for the girls to potty could really add up. These were my worries for now. God could take over the worrying once we made it to the reunion.<\/p>\n
We stopped for a quick lunch by a big pond in northern Oregon. \u201cWho wants to watch Daddy skip rocks?\u201d Jeff asked the girls.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot now, Jeff. We\u2019re still ten hours from your mother\u2019s house,\u201d I called after him. We\u2019d planned to spend our first night in Reno with her.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a couple more. I have to beat my record!\u201d he said. At this rate, we would never make it to the reunion.<\/p>\n
\u201cTry this one, Daddy!\u201d Kellye yelled. \u201cIt\u2019s perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jeff fingered the pebble, nodding his approval. He pulled his arm back and released the rock with a practiced flick of the wrist.<\/p>\n
Plop! Plop! Plip<\/em>! The last skips came so fast we could barely keep up with them. Sixteen skips in all! Each sent a swell of ripples out through the water. It always amazed me what one pebble could do. This one had left its mark for sure. It was so beautiful I nearly forgot my worries. \u201cOkay, everybody. In the car!\u201d<\/p>\n By late afternoon southern Oregon\u2019s soaring temperatures made the Dart feel like a blast furnace. The girls were whining and arguing. \u201cI guess we need a break,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n We found a park in Klamath Falls with a wading pool. After we cooled off, we loaded up again. Jeff threw the car in reverse. But the Dart slipped out of gear and lurched forward, its bottom scraping over the concrete parking strip. The underbelly of the car ground against the barrier as Jeff got us free.<\/p>\n Heading down the road, Jeff looked in the rearview mirror. \u201cUh-oh!\u201d he said. I looked out the back. A trail of oil snaked behind us.<\/p>\n Jeff groaned. \u201cBusted oil pan.\u201d He coasted to a spot behind a gas station, jacked the car up and crawled underneath. When he finally wriggled out, even the oil couldn\u2019t hide the concern on his face. \u201cIt\u2019s fixable, if I can find someone to weld the hole in the oil pan. Plus, I need more oil and a gasket. But who\u2019re we going to find at five o\u2019clock on a Sunday?\u201d<\/p>\n Jeff and I stared at the Dart, not knowing what to do. A gravelly voice startled us. \u201cHowdy, folks!\u201d<\/p>\n We looked up at a tall man with a thatch of silver hair poking out from under a black cowboy hat. \u201cName\u2019s Phil,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnything I can do?\u201d<\/p>\n We explained the situation. \u201cLet me make a call,\u201d Phil said and strode to the gas station. When he returned he said the owner of the auto parts store had agreed to stay open for us. \u201cHe\u2019s a friend,\u201d Phil explained.<\/p>\n He led the girls and me to his air-conditioned van while Jeff got the bolts off the oil pan. \u201cI\u2019m hungry, Mommy!\u201d Christy said.<\/p>\n \u201cMe too!\u201d her sisters chimed in.<\/p>\n \u201cI know a cure for that,\u201d Phil said. Before I could protest, he was head-ed up the road to a Dairy Queen. Hamburgers and milk shakes for everyone, including Jeff. I pulled out my wallet. \u201cYour money\u2019s no good here,\u201d Phil said. Munching on my hamburger, I couldn\u2019t resist peeking at him. Is this guy for real?<\/p>\n When we returned to the Dart with Jeff\u2019s burger, he had a question for Phil. \u201cYou don\u2019t happen to know anyone who welds, do you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re looking at him,\u201d Phil said.<\/p>\n Once again the girls and I jumped into the van. We rode to a big metal building across town. When Phil opened the place up, we gasped. A row of classic sports cars sat in various stages of restoration. \u201cYou\u2019re welcome to look around,\u201d Phil said. \u201cI\u2019ll be done in a jiffy.\u201d<\/p>\n It had been a long day. Normally, the girls would be inventing new ways to annoy one another. But they were entranced. \u201cWow! This is cool,\u201d LeeAnne said, running her hand over the shiny red hood of a \u201959 Porsche. We lingered there studying every car until Phil returned.<\/p>\n \u201cSorry that took so long.\u201d Funny, I hadn\u2019t looked at my watch once. It was 7:00 p.m. Phil must have had his own schedule for the day, but when he saw we were in trouble he put his entire focus on us.<\/p>\n The Dart looked forlorn sitting in its puddle of oil back at the station. All that time wasted. We were still six whole hours away from Reno.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone around here like to swim?\u201d asked Phil. \u201cA friend of mine owns a nice little motel nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n I glanced at Jeff. It would throw us a day off schedule, and we had intended to avoid motels. But then again, Phil had saved us so much.<\/p>\n At the motel the girls squealed when they spotted the corkscrew pool slide. I tried to give Phil some money, but he just shook his head. \u201cDo a favor for someone else,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In our motel room, Kellye looked at me seriously. \u201cWas he an angel?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNot the kind you\u2019re thinking of,\u201d I replied. \u201cBut he\u2019s an angel.\u201d<\/p>\n That night we bowed our heads and thanked God for sending Phil into our lives. I still couldn\u2019t get over the attention he\u2019d given us. The wading pool, the garage full of hot rods, the corkscrew slide, skipping rocks in the pond\u2014who had time for worries?<\/p>\n I called Jeff\u2019s mom to say we\u2019d be there a day late. As I fell asleep I saw the surface of the pond again, ripples spreading ever outward, like angels spreading God\u2019s radiant, never-ending love.<\/p>\n We were prepared to pass along the kindness Phil showed us and make our mark like a skipping stone. I\u2019d let God worry about the schedule.<\/p>\n