Today something small happened that felt anything but small.

I was on duty, driving the security vehicle, and needed to refuel. When I put the fleet card in the pump, it kept getting declined. I tried again. And again. Finally I went inside, made a couple of phone calls, walked back out, tried again… still nothing.

I didn’t realize anyone was watching.
But there was this woman in the parking lot. A black woman. Kind eyes. Gentle presence. At some point I noticed she hadn’t left. She was waiting. And then it hit me- she thought I might not have the money to get gas. She thought I might be stuck.

She offered to buy my gas. Not once, but twice.
Eventually, after more calls and retries, the card finally worked. But before she drove off, she made sure I truly had a way to pay.
And it broke me in the best way.

In a time when the news tells us we’re divided… when politics, race, and fear seem louder than compassion… a stranger saw another human being and chose kindness. No assumptions. No posturing. Just love in action.

I’m a white man. She’s a black woman. And in that moment, none of the labels mattered. What mattered was that one person didn’t want another person to be left alone in a hard moment.

We talk so much about what’s wrong with the world. But today, in a gas station parking lot, I saw what’s still right with it.
And it reminded me: love is still here. Quiet. Unannounced. And sometimes it looks like a stranger offering to buy your gas.

Published by Jeff

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