This morning, I had a very scary incident happen to me.

I was asked to loan my motorcycle to a friend and had no problem doing that.  I went out to the garage to clear out my saddlebags, check the tires for air and start her up.  She’s a cold blooded girl and takes a few minutes to decide it’s time to run.

I stood beside my 1500 Vulcan and started her up.  Unfortunately, the last person who was on it, didn’t put it in neutral like I always do and the bike jumped forward just enough to pop the kickstand.  The bike fell on top of me and I was wedged between it and a dishwasher that is sitting in the garage waiting to be installed.

The bike wasn’t completely on me, I was holding it up with everything I had.  Realizing I wasn’t going to be able to do this for very long and my leg and arm would be pretty pulverized when my arms gave out, I started screaming for help.

Now, I live in a rural area.  I rarely see anyone out here. I’m six miles from a main road and, frankly, I didn’t think it was worth a shit to try, but in that situation, I had to!  I was screaming and honking the air horn on my bike thinking “Please God, no no no no no”.

I heard someone roll up in the driveway.  I figured it was my friend coming to get the bike and I thought, THANK GOD!!! But the strangest thing happened.  It was a gentleman from Texas, out in a truck, checking on utility poles in the area.  He heard me about 1/2 mile from the house and came tearing across the yard.

We pushed together and got the bike up.  I was shaking and in tears and he just stood there rubbing my  back.  I thanked him over and over again. I kept saying “What are the chances you’d be out here!” His name was Charles.

Oh, THANK YOU CHARLES!

After he’d left, I sat on the bike for a few minutes and gathered my thoughts.  How did that happen? How did he just happen to be out here in the middle of nowhere within earshot of my pleas for help?  And then, it hit me.

Of all the things I do for other people, I finally got “paid back”. Not by them of course, but by this total stranger.  Not even by him, but by God. For once creating this man, giving him this job and putting him in this place at just that time.

mind.blown.

I’ve never been one to think they need to be “paid back”. Money, things, time, it doesn’t matter, really.  When I do something, I do it from my heart because I think it needs done.
I see a lot of people posting on facebook about these things.  I hear a lot of my friends talk about it. I hear of friendships breaking up over such silliness. How they did something for someone and they never got “paid back”.

Well my friends, here’s what I learned today:
If you loaned someone 20 bucks, don’t expect them to “pay you back”.
If you drove someone around, don’t expect them to pay you back”.
If you gave someone a place to stay, don’t expect them to “pay you back”.

It’s not up to them to pay you back. It never was.
It’s not up to them to pay me back.  It never will be.
It’s always been between me and God, and it always will be.

Life is short.
Don’t worry about the technicalities or getting “paid back”.
Just pay it forward.

Someday, you will have that moment, when you realize that all your good deeds have just been handed back to you ten fold. ❤