Usually, I am telling you about other people’s stories. Today, here’s one about me:
My family and I go to church in Anderson. Now, before I go any further, you might be asking why we travel to Anderson for church. When I was a senior at Anderson University, some friends of mine started a Bible study on campus. At their first meeting, they had 12 people. Eleven years later, that Bible study has turned into a church with over 10,000 weekly attendees.
This church is amazing and we love it. This is where we want to be where we can learn, love and serve.
So, back to the story. When we got out of church this past Sunday, several fire trucks were in the parking lot and police tape was strewn across the area. We quickly realized that the fire trucks were very close to where we had parked that morning.
When we started walking to our car, we had to cross the police tape where we were met by a firefighter who asked us what kind of car we drove. When we answered a black Camry, he said, “Please follow me to the tent.” At that point, various four-letter words were racing through my mind.
When we got to the tent, we were told that the truck in front of our car had caught on fire. Due to a breeze blowing directly toward our car and an exploding gas tank from the truck, our car caught the brunt of the damage (there was literally no steering wheel left in the Camry). Other cars were also hit, and in total, five were destroyed and six were damaged.
Within minutes of finding out this information, we were barraged with offers of rides home, food and drinks while we waited and we were kept up to date on everything that was going on. Not only was it church leadership who provided this for us and everyone else in our situation, but church members who had never laid eyes on us before. We were very grateful.
On Monday, my wife and I began the process of filing a claim on our car, talking to investigators and adjustors, getting new drivers’ licenses, new bank cards and everything else we lost in the fire. But, I learned two important lessons from this experience.
First, people helping other people, regardless of who they are, and even if they knew us or not, is an amazing sight. I was literally blown away by the generosity of everyone around us on Sunday. People who were parked on the other side of the parking lot stuck around in 100 degree heat to make sure everyone involved was ok.
Second, I like covering the news much better than I like being the news.
