Two gallons of gas left in the tank. It takes three to go round trip to visit Mom at the hospital, recovering from what would hopefully be her last surgery. Hurricane Sandy had shut down the gas supply; there was none to be had near home, the hospital, or along the way. Frustration was building.
Prior to the hurricane, I had filled the tank. After the storm, I had made trips to see Mom, none of us thinking the gas crisis would last as long as it had. On my last visit, I gave Mom a Heads Up that my next trip depended on if I could get fuel. She understood. My Dad and sister live closer to the hospital, Mom would have visitors. But still…the surgery was scary, Mom had a plate put into her skull, and I needed to see her.
At church on Sunday, Karen heard of my predicament. She offered me 5 gallons of gasoline. She explained power was back on to her home, so she didn’t need the gas she had bought for her generator. She graciously offered the gas to me. I was deeply touched.
Carefully watching the needle on the gas gauge, I followed Karen home. Her husband Bill lifted the 5 gallon gas container and poured the precious liquid into my car’s tank.
They wouldn’t take any payment, only asked me to say “Hi” to my mother for them when I saw her. They had never even met my Mom.
I drove to the hospital. “Hi, Mom!”
Mom beamed in reply and gave me a big smile.
What a blessing the gift of gasoline was.
Diane L. Neuls DeBlasio
Seeing God in the Ordinary 
Leave a Reply