The day a broken wheel fixed a broken life

This feel good story is about a chance encounter over a broken wheel—

I was rushing to down 7th Avenue in New York City early that morning to catch the train to Canada when suddenly a wheel fell off my luggage. There I was in the middle of the sidewalk, people busily rushing past me on their way to work, and I'm standing there with this wheel in my hand. I start complaining aloud: "God, look what happened. I never would have chosen to bring this bag if you had not put the thought in my mind to go back in the house and swap the one I had picked for this one. Now what do I do? I can't go to Canada like this."

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As I'm standing there perplexed, I look up from the wheel in my hand to see this woman. I notice her because she looks out of place among the rush hour crowd. She's walking slowly in my direction, gazing in store windows and pulling a tattered looking suitcase behind her. I take a long look at her and surmise from her appearance that she's been wandering the street for some time. She looks weary and sad. She's not dirty but her clothes don't look fresh either. And she didn't seem in any hurry to go anywhere.

Just at that moment, I felt myself move toward the woman as if compelled to speak to her. Showing her the wheel in my hand, I remember saying: "See this wheel in my hand. It came off my luggage. Sometimes the wheels of life fall off and leave us stranded with no place to go. But we can't let it defeat us; we mustn't give up. We have to continue moving forward. Our destiny lies ahead of us. God has a better plan for your life but you'll never know what that is if you quit now..."

This woman's face lit up as I was speaking to her. I had her full attention. I don't even remember all of what I said to her. I just remember her expression. And honestly, it was like an out of body experience for me. So unexpected. I asked her to take one of the Gospel to Go cards from the lanyard around my neck because I still had my luggage and the wheel in both hands. She did as I asked, and we parted ways.

When I reached Amtrak train station, I was surprised to see a Kmart next door; and even more surprised that it was open at 8:00 am in the morning! So I went in, purchased a screw and washer set to re-attach the wheel knowing that it had accomplished its purpose that day.