Ouch! After two and a half hours on the road–a never-ending trip back home to Sarasota after visiting Mom in Savannah–my neck was killing me. With 200 miles to go, I needed a break. I stopped at the nearest rest area and massaged my shoulders.
A car pulled into the spot next to me. I glanced at the driver. Is that…Josephine? I knew her from a Christian fellowship group I participated in back home. Well into her eighties but still sharp as a pin, she possessed a bright spirit and a big, warm smile that comforted everyone in the group.
She rolled her window down. “Hey there,” she said, smiling. “Fancy seeing you here!”
She was on her way south too, she explained. Just making small talk, I mentioned my neck troubles. Josephine insisted on giving me a shoulder rub before I got back on the interstate.
The offer seemed a little unusual–I’d never gotten a neck rub at a rest stop before–but with aches like mine, how could I turn her down?
We got out of our cars. I had to admit, the neck rub felt good. But a few seconds into the massage, Josephine stopped abruptly. Her face went pale and she leaned her weight against the car..
“I feel dizzy,” she said, nearly falling over. I supported her with my arms around her waist, yelled for help, and reached for the car horn.
A young woman ran up to us. “What happened?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “She got weak and started to go down!”
“Is she diabetic?”
Josephine spoke weakly. “Well, I’m not on any medication or anything, I was just diagnosed.”
The woman quickly got a bottle of orange juice from her car. We helped Josephine sit down and gave her the drink to sip. Soon she returned to normal.
How did the helpful stranger know what to do?
“I’m a nurse,” the woman explained, before I could ask. “And a diabetic myself. I teach new diabetics how to test and take care of themselves. It’s just a good thing your friend wasn’t on the interstate when this dizzy spell happened.”
Instead, Josephine was here with me, 200 miles from home, giving a shoulder rub that kept her exactly where she needed to be.
