Opportunity is on the Road in the Middle of Nowhere

When I met Debbie Browne a few years ago she told me her story and we immediately bonded. She had a daughter with Turner’s syndrome and I had a sister with Down’s syndrome. We both learned through life’s circumstances there is always joy in the journey. Taking the time to find the good in any circumstance will lead you with joy through the journey of life.

For example, on a July 4th trip my 6 month pregnant daughter and I ventured to Missouri to visit a friend dying of cancer then to Illinois to celebrate with family. We drove her new car with OnStar on our 12 hour journey to our first stop in Missouri with our dog, Bella.

Around midnight, while my daughter was driving, she hit a piece of tire debris. We didn’t think much of it and kept driving along the Interstate bubbling with enthusiasm and talking about our goals and plans in life. Several hours later, halfway to our 1st stop fear set in. SaLise’s car had less than 10,000 miles and the engine light came on and overheated. We looked around at the fields on each side of us in that pitch dark sky and realized we were “On the Road in the Middle of Nowhere”. My daughter broke down crying in fear and said, “Now what are we going to do?” Does life ever feel like you are in the middle of nowhere?

All I could do is literally laugh out loud. What seemingly sounded like a great idea was quickly turning into a very scary moment. All I knew was the 4 F’s I was taught as a child. Faith, Family, Fun and Fortune. I reminded SaLise what Faith is; the belief in something that you can’t see. We are all called for GOD’s purpose. I knew GOD had something in store for us. There is opportunity in everything no matter if it is good or bad.

It took an hour to travel a few miles to the hotel only to be turned away because they didn’t allow pets. We were in Savanna, Oklahoma where the population is 730. We went to the truck stop and talked to the clerk, he shared his story about his teenage son who recently died in a car accident. He offered to look over the car and said he knew who could fix it, Bob. It was the radiator. Bob called his friend that owns a parts store, only to find out they don’t carry new car radiators. We called the dealership and they said it would be a week. Now what? Bob and I were determined to find the opportunity. Bob found an old minivan to rent with an old fashioned typewriter rental agreement.

Lesson learned: Opportunity is on all roads…even when you are in the middle of nowhere.

Paula J. Foulk

The Life Analyst

Houston, TX