A few years ago, my wife and I were in Oklahoma to remodel a house we owned on some acreage. After looking at it, we decided there was a lot of work to be done. For one thing, there was an enormous room and we decided that it could be converted into two good sized bedrooms. We also needed to remodel one of the bathrooms and completely redo the kitchen – new cabinets, new hot water heater, and on and on.
We had come up from Texas with as many tools as we could get in our small pickup. We spent so much time at Home Depot that summer that we became good friends with one of the associates there. He and his wife have visited us in Texas and we have visited them in their home in Oklahoma.
The house is in a thinly populated area, so there were few close neighbors. We were more than a little surprised when a man just walked into the house and started watching our efforts. After awhile, he made a couple of suggestions on how we might accomplish a task more easily.
After hanging around for nearly an hour, he asked, “Are you staying here at night?”
It was clear no one was staying in this house at night. There was no furniture, and it was certainly not fit for sleeping. I said, no, we were staying in a nearby motel.
He looked around at our tools and asked, “Do you just leave your tools here at night?”
This gave me pause. Why did he want to know about our tools? Finally I said we locked the place up when we left. I tried to make it sound like it was secure. Don’t even think about breaking in.
He acknowledged my statement, turned around and disappeared.
My wife and I didn’t know what to think. I didn’t have many expensive tools here. We had come up in a small Ranger pickup, so space didn’t allow for much, and certainly nothing large. Still, there were several power tools that would be a little expensive to replace.
About thirty minutes later, he walked in again. “My name is Gary. If you will really lock things up tight, I’ve got some power tools that will make your job easier.” He produced a nail gun with various attachments for heavy work or trim work. He offered other tools to make the installation of door hardware easier, faster, and more professionally done.
He said he only lived a half a mile away, but wouldn’t always be around to either deliver or take back the tools, so he would leave them in my care.
Over the next few weeks, he popped in frequently, always with some sound advice and frequently pitching in and helping. And when we were ready to paint the outside, he provided a professional paint sprayer and hoses, after giving me instructions on how to use and clean the equipment.
As with the man from the Home Depot, we became friends with Gary. And to this day, he remains a good friend.
We learned a lot during the renovation. And one valuable lesson was that good friends are all around just waiting for you to be a friend.
A lesson not to let our suspicions get in the way of making new friends. It’s sometimes hard to do in a world that encourages us to mistrust others.
Thanks, \Lesley, for stopping by. And you are absolutely correct. Today’s world seems to discourage that trust. We took a tour in China. The tour guides told us repeatedly to be careful of the people. They would try to scam us, to take advantage of us. We found none of that. We visited with the locals every chance we got and they were generally delightful. And no one tried to scam us. Thanks again for commenting.
I loved this story. When we moved to a rural area of NC, our property was a former pine forest Weyerhaeuser that ended a peninsula. There were no roads, just this pretty acreage on a river. The lot next to ours had been cleared and a dock was there and an outbuilding. Obviously someone used it. We came down and bartered with local Mennonites to clear trees where we wanted the road in return for keeping the wood. We selected our house site, felled trees on that, and created huge burn piles on vacations. One day the couple who owned the lot came by when we were working it and introduced themselves. When we explained we lived out of state but planned to move here eventually, he took us to his little hut and showed us how to get in. Besides the tools he had stored there was a working phone! “For emergencies” he said. He ended up building his own house on his lot and is now our good neighbor … you never know where angels tread.
How nice, Marni. And I’m happy you shared that with us. Makes us remember that there are a lot of really nice people out there and we don’t want to miss them. What a nice story you have. I love it.
Reading your post is a lesson well learned for everyone, Jim. You have to be wary of strangers but, at the same time, open to new friendships.
Thanks for stopping by, Earl. It is difficult to know what to do sometimes. Be cautious? Be open? I think that’s where you “gut feeling” comes in to play. Let’s hope for a smart gut.
It’s true–friends are ready to be made, no matter where you go. Suspicion could have doomed the relationship. Trust made it firm.
That is so true. Trust. I’m afraid the modern world is more geared to cynicism. But, be open to good.
I was expecting you to say that when you left, no one knew who he was and that he was really an angel. I have angels on the brain today, doing the final edits to my next novel, Black Cat and the Accidental Angel, to be pubbed next month! In addition to cats, we DO have an angel!
I’m sure in favor of angles. And I know a few. Thanks for stopping by, Elaine.
I’m constantly amazed at how God puts the right people in my path. Sounds like Gary was one of those people for you.
He was certainly a big plus for us – and still is. Thanks for the comment Pat.
Loved this post! Very inspiring, and yes, a good lesson learned. I would have been suspicious of Gary, and I’m glad you discovered what a fine man he was. I’m glad to hear he became a good friend.
I certainly started off being suspicious. But at least I didn’t order him off the property. That would have been a big mistake. He was and is a nice plus for us. Thanks for stopping by Marja.