Living On Purpose

Last week I went to a class in LA with a friend.  We drove down and when the class was over, we loaded up the car to drive home.  When Linda turned the key there was that awful familiar clicking noise of a dead battery.  We asked the first person we saw if he had jumper cables and he said no but he had one of those charger packs.  He connected it to the battery without success.  The second person we asked had no cables, the hotel we were staying in also had nothing but the third person we asked came through and we were on our way home.

Linda was sick and throwing up on the way home as she usually is after one of these intensive courses that often go from 9AM to midnight.  We were filling up the tank in Bishop and switching drivers.  Linda took off and we began to climb the mountain up to Mammoth.  The car began to loose power and we smelled something burning but there was no smoke.  Oil and belts were good, battery was charged, and nothing was over heating.  As Linda called road service a kind man stopped to see if he could be of service.  He helped diagnose the problem and then went on his way.  The clutch had gone out.  Now Linda was not happy about this and she was not feeling well.  She wanted to be in her own bed and with her cat.  I didn’t see where any of this was in our control but began searching my mind for someone to call.  Then it came to me.  I’d met a gal in Reno, Ruby who was from Mammoth.  We’d exchanged numbers so I called her.  She was in Sparks just leaving to come home to Mammoth.  It was Sunday and Monday was a holiday so if we couldn’t figure out how to get home we would be stuck in Bishop for a couple of days.  This was in the back of my mind and in Linda’s too I’m sure.

Then sweet Ruby said something that not many would say “ how about I drive down pick you up and bring you back home?”  OMG are you sure?  “Yes” she said “ I have had so many people help me out with my car when I needed it so I can do the same for you.”  “Thank you that is very generous” I said.  We hung up and I was waiting for the tow truck driver when she called back and said “you know, I don’t need my car because I have a company car, why don’t you guys take the car home and bring it back by Friday when you come and get your car?”  “OMG Ruby, are you sure that’s ok?  Yes absolutely.  So I’ll come and pick you up in Bishop and take you to my house in Mammoth and then you can go from there.”  “Thank you so much” I said.  “Can we take you to dinner?”  She said “just be my friend.”  “That’s easy” I said.

When the Tow Truck driver, Bob came I asked him how we could get from Bishop to Mammoth and he said “I’ll take you, I’ll be fixing you’re clutch so consider it part of the service.”  Wow another solution.  We climbed into the huge Tow Truck and were on our way to Mammoth.  On the way, we chatted with Bob and his woman friend.  They told us about a great little place to eat that we passed on the way to Mammoth.  I put Ruby on the phone with Bob and she gave him directions to her place.  We were there in no time and it was beginning to snow.  We got all our stuff out of the car and walked into Ruby’s home where her neighbor welcomed us.  Linda went to lay down and I walked to the local McDonalds to get something to eat.  I’d never been to Mammoth and it was quite beautiful with the light snow fall and the wind blowing.  I thought about the day, then the class we had just attended whose focus was “Living On Purpose.”  In that class I’d discovered my mission and vision.  Every step of the way today when we were presented with a challenge we were also presented with Angels.  Nothing bad ever happened that day.  Life just happened and we had choices to make and people to ask about our choices.  And every question was answered and we had food, shelter and another vehicle to get us home.  And Bob the mechanic / tow truck driver turned out to be a mechanic that came highly recommended by Ruby and her friends.

While on the side of the road, I called my friends at home so they wouldn’t worry about me.  They all volunteered to come and get us.  I felt truly blessed.  As we sat in Ruby’s home waiting for her I knew I didn’t want to drive home at night on these icy roads.  Luckily Linda wasn’t feeling well and was really in and out of sleep so we ended up staying over night and leaving for home in the morning in Ruby’s car.

On the way home, heading towards Bridgeport we took the road to Yerington.  While on it we stopped to get something out of the back.  A car came by and stopped to see if we needed help.  Is this what life is like when you are “living on purpose,” when you know that you have a mission to fulfill, that you were sent here for a reason?  So it hit me, maybe just maybe, when you’ve defined your mission and you are on your way to fulfill your destiny everyone wants to help you get there.  That’s my story and I just had to share it.

What do you think?

By:  Laura Grotz