Kate DeVries

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Shortly before I joined the parish in 2007, I attended the 10:30 am Mass one wintry Sunday morning.  I had been visiting churches in the area, looking to see where I felt most welcome.  Homer and Lorraine Abiad, friends who sang in the Celebration Ensemble, saw me there and came over to say hello after Mass.  We talked for a few minutes before I made it out to the parking lot.  On my windshield was the note:  Check your rear passenger tire.  Sure enough, the tire was flat.  By then the lot was almost empty.  I stood staring at my car, trying to figure out what to do next, when a young family approached me.  “Is everything alright?” asked the Mom, with an infant in her arms.  “I have a flat tire, and I’m trying to decide what to do next.”  Then, the Dad asked, “Do you have a spare?”  I responded that I did, but I didn’t want to delay them, or have them go through the trouble of changing the tire. Two other children, who I guessed were 3 and 5 years old, ran circles around us as we spoke.  Dad was assertive when he said, “I want my kids to know – this is what we do for one another. Just open the trunk.”  Mom added, “Yes, let them change it.”  Within minutes, I was driving down La Grange Road. I think of that family every now and then.  I remain grateful that they came to my rescue that morning.  Beyond changing that tire, they helped me decide to join St. Francis Xavier Parish.  You have to love a church where the people are so kind and generous, and invested in sharing our Christian values with the next generation.