In Phoenix, Arizona, a man was driving on the freeway when he saw a vehicle stopped on the side of the road. Feeling an overwhelming urge to pull over and investigate, everything changed when he noticed what was inside the van.
While driving on the highway en route to do some shopping, Phoenix resident David McIntyre noticed something pretty typical: Sitting along the side of the road was an old minivan with a flat tire. He could have simply driven by like everybody else that day and assumed that the owner of the vehicle was waiting for a tow truck, but instead something “strongly compelled” him to intervene.
“As I was zipping down the I-10 freeway, I saw an older model minivan stopped on the side of the road with a flat and something strongly compelled me…no, was almost yelling at me from inside my chest to stop,” David explained in a Facebook post. “As I approached the minivan I noticed it was a family with two small children and the van was completely packed to the roof.”
The van was too jam-packed for the driver to reach his spare tire. The man had been waiting there for a while and no one had stopped since most people usually assume that the stranded person has a cell phone and will just call a tow truck, but that wasn’t an option for this family. They had hoped somebody would stop and help, and that somebody turned out to be David McIntyre.
“He couldn’t get to his spare tire because of all the stuff, and as I pulled my equipment out of my Jeep, he explained he had lost his job and was traveling to New Mexico to live with family,” David recalled. “He also explained he had no money to give me, and I told him I’m not stopping to make money but just to help. I scraped my hand while putting my spare tire on his minivan, and I could tell he felt really bad since I was helping him.”
After he got the spare tire all situated, he then had the family follow him to Discount Tire, where a crew began working on replacing the minivan’s tire, much to the family’s dismay. “As the crew worked on his van and replaced his tire, I could tell he was very worried how much it was going to cost as he discussed it with his wife,” David said. “He was a very polite man and once again that voice inside me guided me.”
Specifically, that beautiful voice of compassion convinced this very kind man to pull the store’s manager aside and offer to pay for the struggling family’s new tire. The irony is this wasn’t even necessary, as the manager revealed that he had no intention of charging the family in the first place. The manager simply smiled and said, “There will be no charge for them today.”
David McIntyre wished the family well and made his exit. “I grabbed my spare and wished them all well,” the good Samaritan said. “The man and his family was very polite and gracious. So, it only cost me an hour of my time and a little scrape but what I continue to feel in my heart today is worth my weight in gold.”
In a world that is so often bombarded with hatred and negativity, it’s nice to hear that there are still good people left in it. This one family was blessed by two complete strangers in one day. It seems that God definitely played a part in all this, putting the right people in the right place at the right time.
