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By R.A. Mathews

I wonder if any of them will read this. The nine. I met each of them last night. 

Briefly — very briefly.

Let me begin by telling you what will seem like an oddity. My favorite part of my vehicle is the tire sensors. True.

As I was leaving town last week, headed onto a 30-mile trek without good cell reception, my sensor alerted me to low tire pressure. 

I sought help immediately. The repair guy handed me the nail I had picked up and I thanked the Lord that I hadn’t been stranded on that road.

Last night, in a city I don’t know well, the same tire sensor indicated I was losing air. 

It was 8 p.m., and again, I was so grateful to know before I started back across that now dark, desolate 30-mile road. However, all the tire places had closed.

I called my best friend, and she looked up the service stations in the city, but none was full service. “Should I just go buy an air pump?” I asked her. 

“You will have to charge it and figure out how to use it.” Her vote was no.

So, I searched that town on a bad tire, looking for an air pump in a lighted area. She stayed on the phone with me, and we found six gas stations.

Listen, putting my head down at night by a tire, unable to see anyone approaching, in a dimly lit area, and in a less than stellar neighborhood is not what I consider safe. 

I felt very vulnerable. 

However, I had no choice. 

My friend kept talking to me, but I wasn’t okay. I know because instead of putting air in my tire, I took it out, hitting the “vac” button instead of “air.” 

I made that mistake twice!

When I finally began adding air, I couldn’t tell anything from the tiny pop-out gauge. Was I now blowing-up my tire?

I kept climbing inside my vehicle to check. Remember, I’m not in a good location. 

Once the sensor indicated the safe range, I knew this ordeal wasn’t over. I had no idea how fast that tire would lose air. 

“I will stay with you,” my friend insisted, “until you get home.” Those were the most comforting words she could have ever said to me. I thought of Scripture: “A friend loveth at all times” (Proverbs 17:17, KJV).

All told, she talked with me for one hour and 28 minutes. Yelling at one point, as I let out the air in my tire and then filled it, worried because she went too long without hearing anything.

Yes, a friend loveth at all times.

I prayed and decided on the longest route home, hoping to have cell service. I did. If my tire had gone flat where I couldn’t call for help, what would I have done? 

I knew I had to make the right decision. “Choose wisely,” I kept saying to myself. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5, ESV).

I kept praying for just that, asking God to help me choose wisely — the right place to use the air pump, the right road home. I also kept stopping men and couples, nine people in all, asking where there was a well-lighted air pump, telling them I didn’t feel comfortable going to a dark area. Certainly, someone would volunteer to help me. 

No one did.

As I said, I met each of these nine last night. Briefly — very briefly.

My friend and I lamented the world and how it has changed. I could have been their daughter, sister, wife, or mom. How many have died or disappeared while stranded on a desolate road? It just takes the wrong person passing by. 

Do you think at least one of the nine was a Christian? Probably more than one. 

If someone had asked you for help, wouldn’t you have gone with them immediately, focusing your car lights on the tire so that person could feel safe?

“Do not neglect to do good… for such sacrifices are pleasing to God” (Hebrews 13:16, ESV).

“Give, and it will be given to you… For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38, NASB).

In the midst of trouble, pray to the Lord to make good decisions. If you encounter anyone in a crisis, pray as well. Ask God how you can help that person.

“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19, ESV).

Contact the Rev. Mathews at RAMathews.com where you can read her biography and sample her books. Copyright © 2025 R.A. Mathews. All rights reserved.