My oldest son C.J. and I meet each Tuesday for dinner and coffee. We usually eat at our favorite place to get Peruvian chicken and then after dinner, head a few doors down to a coffee shop in the same plaza. It’s a special time each week to spend father and son time together, talk about work, life, challenges we are facing, and time to just hang out together. I look forward to it greatly and we rarely miss. Last week we arrived at the restaurant, the weather was horrendous. It was cold, very windy, and it was pouring rain.

We finished our meal and started out the door intending to quickly run the couple hundred feet to the coffee shop to avoid getting wet. As we exited, we were met by an elderly gentleman who asked if we had any tools. His hand was bleeding. He explained that the trailer he was towing had a flat tire and he was trying to dislodge it from the car hitch. He had a pair of flimsy needle nosed pliers and was getting nowhere and ended up cutting himself. Unfortunately, neither C.J. or I had any tools, and he began to walk away disappointed, when I remembered, I did have a pair of vice grips in the car, which he said would work perfectly. I am very protective of my weekly time together with my son and could have just given him the vice grips and allowed him to fend for himself. But that’s not how the Stores Family men roll.

For the next 20 minutes in a driving wind and rain, C.J. and I helped this elderly gentleman. We got the bolt off the hitch but then because of rust couldn’t get the trailer dislodged. We continued to push, pull, and pry using a tire iron and finally lifted the trailer off the tow hitch. The next thing I know, we are in the middle of the storm, hugging one another in jubilation, giving each other high fives. We had conquered the tow hitch! As we did our best Tim the Tool man Taylor impersonation, Har! Har! Har! the look on this stranger’s face was one of sheer joy. We were tired, soaked, and sweating. But it felt exhilarating!

My son and I decided wet or not let’s go have our coffee. Simultaneously we invited our newfound friend to join us and bought him a cup of coffee. C.J. and I began asking him questions about his life’s journey. We huddled around a table sipping our hot coffee. His name is Captain Rick. We were mesmerized as the Cap shared his life story with us. Found out he’s 80 years old and had lived an incredible life. From his time in the Navy to his lengthy career as a designer that helped companies use their space more efficiently and efficiently, to his entrepreneurial adventures improving on existing inventions especially in the area of energy and maximizing energy output and efficiency, it was a fascinating conversation. The Cap was a master storyteller. Before we knew it over an hour had gone by. As we wrapped up our time we looked down and there were literally three puddles beneath us as our soaking wet clothes began dripping on the floor. We exchanged contact information and concluded our time in prayer. Capt. Rick was convinced that God had provided two angels to help him in his time of need. Afterwards, C.J. and I both concluded, that this had been an awesome adventure. Our evening had been interrupted and didn’t go at all the way we thought it would. But we were given a God moment to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a stranger.

Many of life’s most enriching moments and experiences occur in the midst of interruptions. How do you handle unexpected interruptions in your day? Do you get frustrated, aggravated, that your schedule and plans have been thrown out of sync? You never know what’s going on in another person’s life when God puts them in your path and you are given the opportunity to interact with a fellow human being, to touch and impact their lives. Isn’t that what life is all about? Pardon the interruption. Thanks Captain Rick!

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