I didn't expect this to happen while getting the oil changed in my car

The last couple of days my car hasn't been running quite right, so I flipped up the visor to read the sticker that tells me when my car is due for an oil change. I was overdue. So I took it in today to have everything checked out.

I took my laptop with me, and was looking forward to doing some writing while waiting. I just recently had a REALLY neat God thing happen, and I was wanting to put it on paper. However, just shortly after I got my computer fired up, I noticed a friend walking toward me. He sells cars at this particular dealership. Years ago I would see him frequently because I used to help with their television advertising. But anymore, I only see him when I get my oil changed...which is just a couple times a year. (synthetic oil...it lasts longer :-)

Anyway, he sat down to talk to me. He asked me how things were going in the television business. He asked about my family. He asked about my Mom. He reminded me of a time that he had come over and listened to our band play music...back when we were still playing in the bars...and then he asked me what was going on now.

So instead of typing my God story, I spoke it, and shared it with him. He was touched by it, and in turn, shared a God story with me...and now I want to share it with you.

He said, a few years back, he had this friend who was a preacher. He called to check on him one day, and his wife answered. The wife said that the preacher wasn't doing very well because his dog had just died.

My friend knew how much the dog meant to the preacher, and his heart ached for him. The wife said that he would like to have another dog just like the one that passed but it would cost $300 and they couldn't afford it. She had tried to talk her husband into getting one from the pound, but he wouldn't go for it. If he was going to get another dog, he wanted it to be like his last one.

So, my friend decided to make it his mission to find and buy this preacher the kind of dog that he wanted.

He said that he searched all over the Indianapolis area and could not find any pups of that particular breed that were ready to leave their Mama. So he looked and looked, and finally found some about an hour south of here.

The breeder had two dogs, so my friend got in his car and drove down to see the pups. By the time he got there, she had already sold one of them, and all she had left was the runt.

He picked the runt up and looked at him. He wasn't sure whether or not to buy him because typically the runt is not the "best" dog. And this particular dog, even though it was the same breed as the preacher's dog, had brindle markings on it's side, and my friend couldn't remember his dog looking quite like that. However, he had looked all over and not had any luck, so he decided to go ahead and get the runt.

On the way home he had to stop and let the dog out to do it's "duty", and he didn't have a collar or leash, so he quickly ran into a store to buy one so that he could manage the dog easier. He said all he could find was, in his words, an ugly, sissyfied, orange and purple collar...he didn't like it, but he bought it anyway.

When he got home, he called the preacher's wife and said, "don't tell your husband, but I've bought him a dog. How 'bout I come over Sunday for dinner, and I'll surprise him with it?!"

So when Sunday came, my friend went to the preacher's house, and left the pup in the car. He went inside, sat down, and started talking to the preacher. About 10 minutes into the conversation, the preacher said, "you brought me a puppy."

My friend looked to the wife and said, "Ah man, I asked you not to tell him!"

she said, "I didn't tell him."

The preacher said, "she did not tell me about the puppy. The Lord just told me that you brought me a puppy."

My friend was taken back, and he took the preacher out to the car to show him his new puppy. He said to the preacher, "I hope he is okay with you. He's got this brindle marking his sides, and I'm sorry, but all I could find was this silly looking collar."

The preacher said, "come here, I want to show you something."

He took my friend inside and showed him a picture of his dog that had passed away. Same exact markings, and same exact collar.

Now that is a GREAT story, but what made it even greater was God's presence while my friend was sharing it. Because about half way through the story, my friend started crying. He said, "I can't even tell this story without crying."

So he and I sat in the waiting room at the car dealership and cried together.

I ended up crying most of the way back to the station as I pondered both of our lives. When I first me him I was playing music in the bars, and he was frequenting them. But God intervened, and changed us to the point that today we sat and glorified God together by exchanging God stories...and crying.

I did not expect to experience God while waiting for my oil to be changed, but I'm so glad I did.