Been hectic of late. Business is booming; couple that with family life and all the travel involved with work, I’ve haven’t really come up for air since Christmas.
Driving from one meeting to the next today and I found myself in a bit of a fender bender. Except for my truck’s front end, nothing else was seriously damaged on the other vehicle, and most importantly no one was hurt…
As I walked out of my truck to meet what I thought would be an unhappy person in the other vehicle, I was greeted by a lovely elderly lady. She hopped out of the car with a smile on her face and apologized to me (the general rule when you rear-end someone is that it is your fault - so her apology was completely unexpected). She had slammed on the brakes and apologized because she said there was no reason for it (she had misjudged the speed of an oncoming car apparently). I told her not to worry, and that it was my fault…
Complete stranger to me, but she was as welcoming as my Grandma. After exchanging information, we began to chat, sharing a little about ourselves and our upbringing. Realizing how late I was, I texted my next meeting and let them know I wouldn’t be making it…
My conversation with the elderly lady carried on along the side of the quiet road. It was rather strange given the circumstances, but I was intrigued with her story and she was charming. I learned that along with her husband they ran a ministry which helped troubled youth and aboriginals for the last 50 years. They had traveled across the country helping people and sharing the good word. She explained how they’ve lived in the same house for 45 years and sarcastically said that just like them, “it was ready to fall down” from old age. She also told me that everything she has ever needed, the Lord provided, including the car I had just dinged-up…
In 2009, a wealthy supporter of her ministry told her husband to go buy a new car as their 20-year old Mercury (which she proudly told me drove beautifully and looked just as good) was no longer reliable for their long trips cross-country. The supporter told them to spare no expense and that he would cover the cost. “Go buy a top of the line vehicle” were his parting words. And with that, they picked up a nice, yet understated, Pontiac SUV, which was met by my abrupt Silverado today…
The elderly lady told me she didn’t even care that I had scratched her bumper; she was only concerned about the broken taillight, for obvious reasons. I told her to let me know what the damage estimate was and of course I’d pay for it. Her response was “Most of it can be fixed with duct tape.” After my insisting, she said she’d take it in to the shop for an estimate and call me sometime next week. As our conversation ended, she hopped back into her car and proudly stated that she had put 265,000 kilometers on this Pontiac doing their ministry work across the country…
No matter how busy life can be, stop and smell the roses. Entrepreneurship can bring with it tremendous moments, recognition and financial reward, but don’t let it distract you. If it causes you to race through life, missing the simpler moments and opportunities to help others, you’re missing the point. I was getting to a stage where I was missing those moments. This little fender bender was a bit of a wake up call.
Stay hungry,
Aaron
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