We Met This Guy…And He Was Good

   Mayre and I were out the other day, over in Brunswick, at a car dealership, looking around at the used cars. There was a reason.

   Our present car had about 140,000 miles on it, and, although it had been pretty good to us, it was beginning to give signals that there were problems down the road. A balky sensor would beep at us on occasion that the oil pressure was low, and we had better stop immediately to shut it off.

   Well, after we obeyed the command, we would start it again, and it would proceed to run well for another few months. We had it checked and it was determined that the sensor for that function was at fault, and not the engine, so we let it go and put up with the occasional warning light and sound.

   But there was the bumping sound in the rear end and that temperature gauge that would shoot up and then settle down into normal. Little things perhaps, but possibly the sign of future problems that my bank account did not really want to deal with.

   So, here we were, getting out of our car at the dealership, being met by a salesman, not just any salesperson, but a very young one, a teenager really, one that looked like he should be on the bus to high school. "I've got grandchildren older than this, so how could he tell me about cars and steer me to the right one for us?"

   Not only did he know his automobiles, but as we rode around with him and talked, we found he had a story. a remarkable one from our viewpoint, and one that we grew to appreciate.

   You see, he was the oldest of 4, the son of parents who were a little dysfunctional to say the least. One of them was in prison, the other not able to care for them, and these kids had been shuttled around southeast Georgia for a few years.

   This boy that we were talking with had been raised in a Georgia Baptist Children's Home, had lived in at least 4 counties, gone to schools all over, and was being helped by a grandmother. He was also the man of the house, trying to help with the raising of his 3 younger siblings while earning enough to help the family survive.

   How in the world did he get a job selling cars at this auto dealership at his age? In speaking with his manager, I found that he had so impressed him with his story and work ethic, as evident in what he had been able to do over the past few years, that he gave him a chance to succeed there.

   He had only been at this job for a few months, but his attitude and knowledge impressed us.

   There are so many stories out there of kids in trouble with the law, of teens addicted to all kinds of stuff, that this young man was a breath of fresh air.

   Thanks Preston, for giving us faith in a younger generation, who, in the midst of trials, with God's help, can be on the path to a successful and productive life. Your story of faith and perseverance is amazing, and we are privileged to know you.

   And we like the car, too.