27 Miles From Houston and a Hundred Miles From Home

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This letter was sent to me by a dear friend and follower of Christ some years ago, and I wanted to post it here today. As a background for you, at the time of this writing, my friend was diligently seeking employment as an NFL assistant coach, and recently his wife had left him and refused to return. I believe you will be touched by what he wrote upon his return from a trip to Mobile, Alabama to attempt to secure a position with the Buffalo Bills.
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Let me tell you about what happened to me as I came back from Mobile, Alabama yesterday. I had reservations about going to Mobile because, as I had told you, nothing was concrete and I really didn't have the money to go, but I just got this nudging to just go.

Concerning the job, I met with one of the important people there and he simply said that he would do his best. After leaving the hotel on Thursday, I wondered, "Lord why did you bring me here, because I could have heard that on the phone."

Later on Thursday night, I talked to someone real close to the organization and he assured me that the job was mine and the reason why Tom could not say alot. He said, "Reggie, the job is yours."

I was excited about that until he said that it would not be official for about a month. I understand the business and everything happens after the Super Bowl. Still, I wondered why God had brought me all the way there, because He could have told me that on the phone.

Maybe it was to hang out with my fraternity brother and his family. I really enjoyed being there, but was disappointed to find out he was cheating on his wife like crazy.

So why did I travel all the way to Mobile, Alabama?

I left Friday morning heading back to Houston. I thought about my family all the way back. About mid-way back, there was a guy stranded on the highway. He had run out of gas, so I stopped, picked him up and took him and got him some gas.

I was really glad to help him. He had major issues, young black man into money and women, and he had been divorced. I simply told him God loves him. I would remember him later.

Now I know you guys are wondering where I am going with this. Well I was rolling pretty good, I was about to make this trip in record time, everything was great, until I saw the sign that said 27 miles from Houston.

Suddenly I heard a bumping and then the car seemed to drop down on one side. I had had a blow out.

I struggled to get control of the car because I was traveling over 80 miles an hour. I finally got control of the car and pulled over. Unfortunately, I was on a part of the freeway where there was no medium and very little room to the right because they were expanding the highway and they had borders set up. My car was parked barely outside of the right lane so close that I had to get out on the passenger side of the car, and because of the borders I could barely get out.

As I looked up. there was that sign - "27 miles outside of Houston" - and I thought, "Wow, I have come such a long way and this happens 27 miles outside of Houston." It was 5:30 pm when this happened and I simply sat for a while. This was a new tire and that I had no car jack in my car.

Finally, I decided to flag someone down, but with no luck. It was such a tight fit and I was positioned in the curve of the freeway so people came by flying and if they wanted to help by the time they saw me they were going too fast and there was really no where they could park their car.

After standing there for about an hour, I decided to walk towards what appeared to be a truck stop about a half mile down the road. This was difficult because I had to hop over the borders and walk through the all kinds of stuff because they were expanding the highway,

I finally made it to the truck stop, which was not a truck stop at all. Sure, trucks were there, but they were all big Fords and Dodges. I instantly knew I was in the wrong place. This was a gas station, honkey tonk, adult movie store hang out.

As I walked in the red necks simply stared at me, I finally got the nerve to ask them did they have a car jack and the answers were all "No," with smirks and grins. I don't think they were racist or anything, just rough and rugged.

Anyway, I stood out in the parking lot near the gas tanks and asked every person that came in, about a million, if they had a jack and no one had one. At about 7:30 the temperature had dropped and I stood at this "shop." The red necks had left and now the perverts were coming to get their adult movies and no one had a jack. They had truck jacks, they had parts of jacks, they had jumper cables, but no jacks,

I would remember the guy who had the jumper cables. My emotions just took over as I, at that moment, thought about my life. No job, no wife, and stranded 27 miles from Houston and what seemed like a hundred miles from home.

The tears began to fall as I thought, "Where did it all go wrong?" and I could not control myself. I began to just shout, "I hate my life!". I cried for what seemed an eternity. Many people passed by but no one seemed to notice or care.


I finally decided to walk back to the highway and try to figure something out. I was now freezing and back on the highway, the trucks were coming around that curve so fast the car seemed as if it moved every time they passed.

Finally, I decided that maybe I could just drive to the next exit and to a gas station about a 2 miles away. I began to drive the car slowly and finally made it off the ramp. I thought that I would make it to the gas station, but 27 miles outside of Houston and a hundred miles from home the rubber came off the tire and I was riding on a rim.

I stopped the car, and just smiled. I was glad that I had made it off the ramp and, although I was in a very dark spot, I knew that help would soon be there.

Car after car came and passed. I thought maybe they couldn't see me coming off the ramp so I turned on my headlights and put the brake lights on. The emergency blinkers were already on.

As I stood there, there was a pattern to the people passing me up. Some would just look, others would speed up, the worst of them all though were those who would hit there brakes and think about helping but then pull off.

Many people stopped but had no jack; a Drivers' Ed teacher with students, a drunk, several truckers. One guy with a missing head light stopped, but he didn't have all the parts to his jack. He promised he would be back, but I never saw him again.

It was now 9:00 pm and I was still 27 miles from Houston and a hundred miles from home.

I know that you might be wondering, "Why didn't you just call someone to come get you?" I don't have any friends in Houston to call. Plus I knew that sooner or later someone would stop with a jack and I would be moving again.

As I stood flagging down cars, I began to just laugh uncontrollably. I kept saying. "27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I couldn't help it. I guess I laughed because I didn't want to cry. I was freezing, had no job, had no wife, and I was stranded 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

I laughed until I realized that my life was a mess and I was so close to Houston but so far away because of circumstances. I thought about it being the same way with Tanisha, how I was so far from home. Then I began to cry, and this time it was uncontrollable.

I was running and falling and felt like I had just lost it. I begged God to speak to me right then. I ran to the car and grabbed my Bible and said, "Lord. please give me a word." He said, "Psalms 40:1."

"I waited patiently on the Lord and He inclined unto me and heard my cry."

I thanked God and I began to sing. I was singing so loud that the people who I was trying to flag down must have thought that I was insane. The song turned into a sermon, and I literally was preaching to myself. The Holy Spirit came, and I could not help myself. I was engulfed in His Spirit right there, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.

That scripture meant so much to me, it said all that I needed to hear. It spoke to the fact that I was stranded and needed help, it spoke to my finances, it spoke to my marriage, and I thank God for that.

Finally after 5 hours of standing on the side of roads, a guy came who had a jack. His lug wrench did not work, but he had pliers, and we changed that tire.

And I tell you that, 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home, the battery now went dead. Don't worry. I drive a stick, and I simply jump started it.

I finally knew why I had gone to Mobile, Alabama.

I got the answer 27 miles from Houston, Texas, and a hundred miles from home.