It Just So Happened

Thursday of this week, Brenda and I headed to Cedars of Lebanon State Park to spend a few days and to attend a bluegrass festival. Two and a half hours into our journey, while we were traveling on I-840, I glanced at my side mirror to check on traffic and saw one of the wheels on our camper come off and go skittering across the highway.

The good thing was IT JUST SO HAPPENED that we were right at an exit and I was able to pull off and out of the way of all the traffic. I got out and checked on things, thankful that we have a double-axle camper, which kept it from being completely on the pavement.

IT JUST SO HAPPENED that there was one quick-stop sort of place at the end of that exit, so I slowly pulled in completely unsure of what I was going to do. As I stood beside the camper in a bit of shock, a pickup truck pulled up beside me with three young men in it (who may or may not have had a beer or two).

One got out and pointed to the bed of the truck, saying, "I think I've got something that’s yours."

IT JUST SO HAPPENED that they were following me on the interstate and saw what happened. They chased down my wheel and found me so they could return it to me. I was barely able to thank them before they were on their way.

At that moment, IT JUST HAPPENED that a grizzled looking fellow, who was gassing up his pickup truck loaded with scrap metal, walked over and said, "You need to call Wallace Trailer Repair. They'll fix you right up."

I asked him where they were located, and IT JUST SO HAPPENED that they were only five miles away. But five miles was forever away when I was afraid to drive over 10-15 miles an hour. So, I called them to see if they could come to me. Turned out all their service people were out on other calls (one of which was to assist Diamond Rio. Yes, THAT Diamond Rio). The only choice I had was to pull my camper there.

Before starting, I decided to call 9-1-1 to see if they would want to send a patrol car to follow me because I knew I was really going to snarl any traffic on the road.

IT JUST SO HAPPENED there was a patrol car about ten minutes from where I was. The car pulled up a few minutes later with two deputies inside. They asked if I wanted them to help repair the damage. I said no, that the spindle on the axle was ruined and couldn't be fixed, that I didn't know if they needed to follow me to Wallace's or not. I told them that I knew it wasn't a real emergency and if they didn't have time to follow me, I understood.

They both quickly replied they were going to do what they could to help. So, they followed me all the way to Wallace's and left before I could get out and thank them.

Well, IT JUST SO HAPPENED Wallace Trailer Repair was the kind of place that could handle any kind of trailer problem, including my camper.

And IT JUST SO HAPPENED that William Wallace IV who ran the business was the kindest, most empathetic, and thoughtful businessman I think I’ve ever met.

When it was apparent that the repairs wouldn't be finished until the next day, he pointed me toward a motel that, IT JUST SO HAPPENED, was a mile from where we were. He gave me his business card and put his cell phone number on it, telling me to call him if there was anything he could do for me.

We found the motel easily (a national chain, really nice motel). I went in, explained what had happened to us and asked for a room, a room that allowed pets (because Lacey, our mini-schnauzer, ALWAYS goes camping with us).

The woman gave me a sympathetic smile and said they had a no pet policy, except for service dogs. I told her I could lie and tell her Lacey was a service dog, but she wasn't. She turned to her computer and clicked keys for several moments. IT JUST SO HAPPENED she felt sorry for us and gave us a room on the ground floor.

Thirty-six hours after the wheel came off, we were back on the road again.

Now, anyone who knows me knows that I rarely believe in coincidences. There is no way I believe all those IT JUST SO HAPPENED moments were coincidences. As He has throughout my life, God was gracious and merciful to me, which allowed Brenda and I to be thankful, rather than angry and ill-tempered.

*Taken from The Wit and Wisdom of David Johnson, Volume 1: I Didn’t Know Donkeys Could Laugh.