Truly, truly, I say to you,
he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep,
but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hears his voice and
he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he puts forth all his own,
he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him,
because they do not know the voice of strangers.
------ John 10: 1-5 ------
he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep,
but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.
But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.
To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hears his voice and
he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
When he puts forth all his own,
he goes ahead of them and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.
A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him,
because they do not know the voice of strangers.
------ John 10: 1-5 ------
awesome photo taken by my awesome son Thaad
Soaring gas prices, whew! When I had to bring my car to the dealership for a recall, it took them more than a month to get done with it, and so they paid for my rental car. Bong chose the Ford Fiesta for me and boy was I really glad! 36 miles to a gallon of gas compared to 23 on my Windstar. I was very pleased indeed.
Second day into my pleasant driving experience.... Off to work I went with my Sirius (something I did not have with my Windstar) Christian music station on, I drove by an elderly gentleman by the entrance ramp onto I-275. I was just done with my morning drive habit, that is about 12 miles of praise and worship before I get into the freeway and then I am ready for my day's challenges. A red plastic gas container in one hand, this guy was waving at me with the other, signaling that he needed a ride. Not giving it a second thought, I stopped... Ooopppsss.... In short, I gave the guy a lift... might be my first challenge of the day.
He asked my name. I told him. He asked if I can drive him to where his car broke down on him. Sorry, that is out of my way. He asked if I can drop him off at a gas station instead. That, I can do since there's a gas station right afte I get off the freeway. He asked if I can spare him a couple of bucks to pay for gas because all he had was some loose change he found in his car. Okay, as soon as we get to that gas station, That was probably the longest 10-minute drive ever. I was uncomfortable and I was not talking, except when asked. Finally, the gas station.... I dropped him off, gave him the last few dollars that I had in my wallet and we said our goodbyes.
It was a relief when I saw all those familiar faces at work. I told them about my adventure.... or mis-adventure. They reminded me of the dangers of my action. Yeah, I was a fool but I also felt sorry for that seemingly helpless stranger. It was Freddie (he is another story to tell) who put some sense to my doubting little mind. "You have a good heart, Casilda. Maybe it was God who made you do what you did. Maybe you were listening to God telling you to help that guy", he tells me. And that was enough for me. God is my shepherd and I am His sheep.
I am pleased. I am BLESSED.
- no angel -
Second day into my pleasant driving experience.... Off to work I went with my Sirius (something I did not have with my Windstar) Christian music station on, I drove by an elderly gentleman by the entrance ramp onto I-275. I was just done with my morning drive habit, that is about 12 miles of praise and worship before I get into the freeway and then I am ready for my day's challenges. A red plastic gas container in one hand, this guy was waving at me with the other, signaling that he needed a ride. Not giving it a second thought, I stopped... Ooopppsss.... In short, I gave the guy a lift... might be my first challenge of the day.
He asked my name. I told him. He asked if I can drive him to where his car broke down on him. Sorry, that is out of my way. He asked if I can drop him off at a gas station instead. That, I can do since there's a gas station right afte I get off the freeway. He asked if I can spare him a couple of bucks to pay for gas because all he had was some loose change he found in his car. Okay, as soon as we get to that gas station, That was probably the longest 10-minute drive ever. I was uncomfortable and I was not talking, except when asked. Finally, the gas station.... I dropped him off, gave him the last few dollars that I had in my wallet and we said our goodbyes.
It was a relief when I saw all those familiar faces at work. I told them about my adventure.... or mis-adventure. They reminded me of the dangers of my action. Yeah, I was a fool but I also felt sorry for that seemingly helpless stranger. It was Freddie (he is another story to tell) who put some sense to my doubting little mind. "You have a good heart, Casilda. Maybe it was God who made you do what you did. Maybe you were listening to God telling you to help that guy", he tells me. And that was enough for me. God is my shepherd and I am His sheep.
I am pleased. I am BLESSED.
- no angel -
I like the awesome car too!
ReplyDeleteWow Tita Dang! Talk about sharing your blessings! Although I can just imagine how it must've felt giving a stranger a lift... but your pure and selfless heart really shows. :)
ReplyDeleteThank God, nothing happened to you, Caz... Be very careful always... sometimes we become prey to devious characters due to our good intentions and kind deeds/// Braul
ReplyDeleteSomething to reflect upon before picking up a hitch hiker in the future :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRfQmWibq8A&playnext=1&list=PL67608C797956575C