The Kindness of Strangers

1 Timothy 6:18...do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.


Being off the road as carneys didn't take us off the road completely, at first. After finishing up the last weekend of the season with the carnival, Halloween weekend, Tim had made enough money to get a cheap car, order some cardboard frames, and a polaroid camera. His next business plan involved a photo booth and flea markets...not exactly Wall Street-worthy! He built a wooden stand with a background sheet, packed up the frames, and I loaded our few belongings, our son, and his medicines up into the car. We were Texas-bound!

Tim located a flea market in a Dallas suburb, and we paid the space rental fee for our photo booth. We then proceeded to try talking the few customers who were there into having their pictures taken for $1 and choosing from such classy cardboard frames as "Wanted, $1,000,000 Reward" or "True Love Always." I'm sure there were even worse offerings that I've erased from my memory! We barely made enough to scrape by, and Tim finally decided to admit defeat and head back to Kansas.

On the way back, we ran out of money, so we depended on the goodwill of a few strangers along the way. One especially memorable instance was when a motel manager let us stay for a free night after Tim stopped and asked if he could work in exchange for a room. The man called the room in the morning and told us to meet him down to the office. We nervously reported to the front desk, and he handed us $50 for gas and a free breakfast coupon for two; when we asked for his name and address to send repayment later, he told us to pay it forward. The random kindness of a stranger was so refreshing and touching...it meant a lot to me then, but grew in its meaning and impact as time went on.

We got to Kansas with literally just enough gas to roll into my parents' driveway, and I think that Tim was resolved to settle down for the sake of his small family. We got a low-income apartment and minimum-wage jobs. Most importantly for me, I was near my family and home church. I wouldn't say life was good, but it was consistent, which was a welcome state.