The Road Curves Toward Others is a Route 66 story about pausing your own plans to help a stranger, and the grace found in small roadside moments.
I have to be honest, I really wasn’t feeling generous that day.
Somewhere along Route 66, somewhere between the playlists and the prayers, I had slipped into my own head. Maybe it was the heat. Perhaps it was the quiet. Or maybe I just wanted to make it to wherever I thought I was going without interruptions, without anyone needing anything from me.
But the road had other plans.
A Car on the Shoulder
Came around a bend and saw a car pulled off awkwardly to the side. No hazards flashing, no frantic gestures — just a young man standing there, phone in one hand, the other hovering over the hood like he was trying to remember where engines come from.
He looked college-aged. Clean fingernails. Nice hoodie. The kind of kid who didn’t grow up with a socket wrench in his hand, probably never took auto shop, maybe didn’t have a dad who taught him more than how to add air to the tires and call for help when something beeped.
Stopping Anyway
I pulled over. Not because I felt particularly charitable, but because something in me — maybe God, maybe grace — didn’t let me pass.
I asked if he was okay. He said, “It just… stopped.” Didn’t know what to do. No signal. No clue.
This wasn’t even his car, it was a rental. He was on his way to see his uncle. Dying of cancer, he said.
I had two bars, so I made the call for him. I had a cooler in the back and gave him a bottle of water. Popped the hood and looked busy until someone who knew more than both of us showed up.
He told me, quietly, that he was scared he wouldn’t make it in time to say goodbye.
I didn’t have an answer, but I stayed with him until the tow truck came.
We shook hands. He looked me in the eye and said, “I didn’t think anyone would stop.”
I told him, “Some roads curve toward people. This one did.”
And then I drove on.
✨ Roadside Reflection – The Road Curves Toward Others
You don’t need to be a mechanic to offer kindness. You don’t need to know the fix to make someone feel less alone.
Sometimes grace shows up with clean fingernails and a lump in the throat, standing on the side of the road with a dying relative on their mind and no tools in their hands.
Sometimes grace shows up… and it’s you.
Just pull over. That’s all. Let the road do the rest.
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