My FIL has been down on his luck lately. I won't go into details, but he's had some trouble at some businesses he's owned, and he was forced to quickly shut down the offices completely this past week. Anyway, after all this has gone down, he really felt like he needed some time to get away by himself and reflect on where his life has taken him. So yesterday he decided to take a road trip by himself and drive from Colorado up to Kennewick, Washington, where his father is buried. He and his father were always close, so he occasionally visits his grave for "chats"--which are really just more of him having some peace and solitude to ponder upon things of his life.

So he drove from Colorado yesterday to Burley, Idaho, where he spent the night. After a quick breakfast at the Best Western in Burley, he hit the road again this morning. Shortly after leaving Burley, his transmission went out on the freeway. Already on a tight budget (which forced him to close some of the offices) and without good car insurance, he had no money to even call a tow truck. So he started to walk into the nearest town.

Now my FIL has never been an overly spiritual man, but he was moved to tears as he recounted his prayer as he walked back into town. The closest thing I can compare it to is this classic scene from It's a Wonderful Life:


Watch this video on YouTube


He said after the prayer, he had his own Nephi experience--not knowing before hand the things which he should do. But he kept walking, and ultimately came across a running car parked in the driveway of a home he was walking past. He kind of felt like he should get in and take the car, but he had never stolen a car before and had a hard time rationalizing that it was the right thing to do. But then the feeling came even stronger that he should get in and take the car. So he did.

Inside he found enough money to get him to Kennewick. He's had an amazing experience at his father's grave, and now knows what he needs to do to get his feet back on the ground. He will be returning the car to the owners tomorrow. I'm sure they will be shocked, but will quickly be able to feel the spirit of this Christmas Miracle.

Merry Christmas, Cougarboard.