Stopping to help fellow bikers resulted in double blessings.
In Bible times, the good Samaritan rode a donkey. But today
you might find a good Samaritan on a motorcycle. My husband and I
belong to Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA), a ministry to take
the gospel of Jesus Christ to bikers. We often have opportunities to
witness because we are willing to stop and help one who needs a hand
and possibly a prayer.
This past June, my husband and I were coming home from
Americade, an upscale motorcycle rally at Lake George, New York.
Riding our Honda Shadow ACE Tourer motorcycle, we were trying to stay
ahead of a rainstorm that was following us. To beat the storm, we
decided not to take country roads but instead take the New York
State Thruway and the Massachusetts Turnpike to get to our home
in Milford, Massachusetts. We paid the toll, and almost immediately
after we entered the thruway, we noticed four stranded motorcyclists
beside Gold Wing and BMW motorcycles on the side of the highway. We
decided to stop to see whether we could be of assistance.
On this 80-degree day, one man, sweat pouring off his face,
was underneath his bike, looking at the tire. We introduced ourselves
and asked if we could help. When they saw the CMA vests we were
wearing, they asked if we had come from Americade. They were returning
to Long Island from the same event and had popped a tire on the BMW
while coming through the toll booth.
The situation was frightening because of the heavy
truck traffic just a few feet from all of us! The couple with
the breakdown seemed to be having trouble deciding what to do. I knew I
couldn’t do anything except pray, so I sat on the guardrail and
silently prayed that God would intervene. The man who owned the bike
got out a patch-repair kit. The Gold Wing owner had an air compressor,
so he could check the air pressure. The patch didn’t hold, nor was
there enough air pressure in the tire so that he could ride to the
nearest exit to Lee, about a five-mile ride off the highway.
In frustration I said, “Where are the cops when you need
them?” Then I asked the group if they would mind if we prayed. They
seemed shocked but willingly held our hands as my husband prayed for
protection and guidance. After we had prayed, one of the women located
a BMW dealer only about a 40-minute drive off the highway. Her husband
raised his hands toward heaven and said, “Thank You!” He couldn’t
believe there was a dealer and that he was open for another 45 minutes.
They tried the repair kit again, and this time the plug held! The air
pressure was also correct, so we knew God had doubly answered our
prayers. We decided to follow the BMW off the highway to make sure they
made it safely.
I gave the couples my business card, which includes my email
address and information about the book I wrote, Listen to the Cry
of the Child. I briefly told them that God helped me come out of the
darkness from sexual abuse to recovery. In return, one of the men
handed me his business card. I remembered my previous comments when I
saw that he is a police officer. I then learned that the other man is a
retired police officer.
The experience itself was a blessing, but there was more to
come. The very next morning we received an email message from the woman
who had been riding the BMW with the tire problem.
She thanked us profusely for taking the time to stop and help
them, making sure they were safe, and driving to the next exit.
She told us that the BMW dealer had only one tire of the size they
needed in stock, “which must have been waiting for us!” They got
on the last ferry and made it home by 9:00 P.M. The following day we
received a message from her husband. He told us that as police
officers, they see so many tragic accidents from both motorcycles and
cars on highways and that we had helped prevent another tragic accident! They
had been terrified when stranded by the busy highway. When I had
lamented, “Where is a cop when you need one?” he had been thinking the
very same thing and wishing for the protection of the police and
lights. They could not thank us enough!
The next day a beautiful basket of flowers and greenery was
delivered to our door from this thankful couple. I was so moved by the
emails and flowers and appreciation for our offer to stop and help. We
often stop to help someone, but this was the first time we had been
thanked with a basket of flowers. Because we had their address, we were
able to mail them information about the Long Island Chapter of CMA,
along with a Hope for the Highway Bible and recent newspaper
articles about CMA.
Centuries ago, a wise man described the principle that CMA
members use to share the gospel: “Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his
friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to
help him up!” *
Barbara Joy Hansen writes from Milford, Massachusetts.
She is author of Listen to the
Cry of the Child, Wine Press Publishing.
