In the 1970’s, for a stay-at-home mom with two little ones under the age of, having the Salem Mall practically in your back yard was wonderful. A cranky kiddo’s woes could be eliminated by spending an hour rambling through the best mall the greater Dayton area ever had. With two anchor stores, Sears and Rike’s, at either end and a host of smaller shops and a grocery in between, we could combine exercise, food shopping and soft pretzels all in one trip. There was even a Cassano’s pizza shop tucked away in the back of the mall! Occasionally, we would pick up a pizza “to go” for lunch at home, a real treat!

One day, that sounded like a good idea to me and my three-year old. The one-year old didn’t actually get a vote. We parked at Cassano’s, paid for the pizza, and returned to the car, me carrying the pizza in one hand, the baby in one arm, with the three-year old clutching my skirt. I managed to get the kids in the car, one in a baby seat, and one seat-belted in the back seat. As I was leaving the back parking lot, I noticed someone in a passing car waving at me. I waved back, not recognizing who it was. A few seconds later, another car went by me, waving and honking. I smiled and waved back. They stopped, backed up, honked again to get my attention, and the driver shouted at me, “Hey Lady! There’s a pizza on the roof of your car!” Duh! I gave them the thumbs up and pulled over to park the car, again, and retrieve the pizza. I felt rather stupid, but not as stupid as I would have felt had I driven all the way home only to find no pizza in the car and then realized what all the waving and shouting had been about!

At last, I was able to continue my way out of the parking lot. As I approached the exit, which led out to a busy street, I put on the brakes only to discover that I had NO brakes, the pedal thumping to the floorboard without slowing down the car at all. I had plenty of room to pull out of the exit lane and slowly coast to a stop in Sears’ parking lot. This was before cell phones, so there I was, approximately a mile from home, with two little kids, and a pizza. Luckily for me, someone had noticed that I had some sort of trouble and drove over to see if I needed help. It was an older gentleman (probably twenty years younger than I am now), who kindly offered to drive us home.

Here’s the dilemma. What would you do? Get in the car driven by a total stranger with my two wee ones, or decline the offer and walk the one mile home, possibly carrying both of the wee ones? We could have eaten the pizza en route, a sidewalk picnic! We can discuss the pros and cons of this dilemma at another time. I just knew my kids were already tired and hungry, and we needed to get home. So, I accepted his offer. We arrived home safe, sound, and thankful for the kindness of strangers. (This part will be continued….duh duh duh DUUHHH!)

Here’s the thing. If I hadn’t left the pizza on the roof of the car and stopped the car to retrieve it, the next time I would have had to put on the brakes was at a very busy intersection and I might not have been able to coast to safety. A very serious accident could have occurred. So, the Lord works in mysterious ways, as we’re told, His wonders to perform. This time, He told me to get a pizza.