The First Gift of Christmas

I received my first gift of the holiday season last week. It may not seem like much to some, but to me, it was a big deal. A huge deal. Bigger than the good friend who gave the gift realizes. On a practical level, I simply received the gift of a new car starter's installation. It saved me $200 or so that I would have had to pay the auto shop. On a deeper level, someone gave their valuable time, and used their experience and giftedness to help me and my family in a way that I just couldn't.

Twice I've tried to do work on my cars, and both times they ended in disasters. The first time, many years ago, I just tried to do my own oil change. A simple procedure. But, one turn too tight on the filter, and then again on the oil pan screw, and I was paying the shop to change my oil, and fix the stuff I broke. A couple of years later, I decided to flush and change my anti-freeze. Again, a simply procedure. An hour later, I had broken off some part, stripped the threads on a valve, and dropped a nut down into the radiator. The shop was happy to see me. Since then, autos has joined electricity as the areas I'd prefer to pay someone to help me with.

And so a couple of weeks ago, the car started having difficulty starting up. The battery was good (and although I don't like to work on cars, I at least know some stuff about them), so I knew there was a good chance it was the starter. I banged on it with a screwdriver (it actually helps), but I could tell from the sounds it made that it needed to be replaced. The thought of paying money for a starter and installation at this time of year, and into a van that is now approaching 8 years old just plain stunk. More than that, it was a bit depressing.

But my friend Nick overheard Ann and I talking about it one Sunday after church, and volunteered to fix it. I know Nick well. I've learned that when Nick says he'll take care of it, it means he'll take care of it. So I said, "Thanks." And last Wednesday, on a very cold and windy day, Nick crawled under my minivan, pulled out the old starter, and installed the new one that I had picked up at the auto parts store. He lost some skin on his knuckles, as is always the case when you work on cars. He found a few other things that needed attention (and took care of them). He even filled my windshield wiper fluid. The van has been perfect since he finished.

He installed a starter. No big deal? Just a couple of bucks savings? Or a perfect example of how we can use our gifts to help others in their need?