God Introduced Me To Yogi

Yep, his name is Yogi and he has the heart of a great big Teddy Bear. Yogi is a man after God’s own heart in my eyes and I don’t know what his relationship with my Lord & Savior might be. I don’t know and I would never try to guess but I will tell you that he is a gentleman knight and chivalry is not dead! No, it is not dead … Praise God!

I met Yogi by chance at an Exxon Gas Station. My car had a tire that needed to be replaced and Yogi’s Tire Shop is on the Exxon property where I was getting some gas. So, I decided to ask him about his tires. I told him upfront … “I am a single mom with a limited income … how much do your used tires cost?” He said, “Mam, I’ll put one on for you for $35.00.” I was sold instantly … for two reasons … He called me Mam and the price was hard to beat. I couldn’t afford a new set of tires so I was putting them on as needed. Yogi was an answer to prayer.

I told Yogi if I ever needed a tire … I would be back. He told me that he would do my brakes for a minimal fee and the price of parts. And if I wanted all new tires, he would do it for about $200.00 but he didn’t recommend it because my van was getting up there in age. Poor Rose! (That is the van’s name per my daughter.) How AWESOME is my God! How awesome is Yogi!

A few months later I had this annoying tire that kept going flat … it was a perfectly good tire but it had a leak. I went to a well known tire dealer to ask how much they would charge me for two tires and an oil change. It was close by and I thought I’d see what they could do for me. I told them the same thing that I told Yogi and the guy said he would give me the best deal. His quote was $298.00. Earlier he had told me that people called him John the Baptist … boy, was that a miss on nicknames. I told him thank you very much … walked outside to my van and told my daughter, “Find Yogi’s card!”

I called Yogi … told him I needed another tire and he said, “Come on over now … I got you covered.” When I got there I told him I needed an oil change and two tires. I told him that my van was having mechanical issues and it looked like I might need a new engine. As I stood there admiring the old vehicles that he and his co-workers were working on ... Yogi called me over. He had his buddy standing there listening to my car … he said, “Turn off the air conditioning.” I did and he said, “It isn’t so much the engine as it is your air conditioning, leave it off and you’ll be ok.” He had diagnosed the problem in just a few minutes and kept me from an expensive bill. Yogi told me I only needed one tire because he was going to find the leak and patch it for me.

While he was working on my tires, he noticed my brakes. He said, “You need a brake job. Bring the vehicle back early next week and I will do your brakes for you for $50.00 and the cost of parts. I will run you to your office and work on your brakes while you are at work. Just have somebody bring you back after work.” So I did that … I trusted him and I knew he wouldn’t tell me something I didn’t need.

On the way to my office I learned a bit about Yogi … a man that loves his family and the owner of two businesses. He believes that you treat people well … like you want to be treated. He believes in helping people. He is a giver from the core of his being.

I waited to call him in an hour as he instructed me to do to find out how much it was going to cost for the parts. He said, “Mam, your rotors are bad … they have to be replaced. I knew he was right because the brakes had been squeaking for a while. I took a deep breath … waiting for the price. He said “I can do it for you for $173.00.” I was shocked … did he say $173.00? I knew that was just the cost of parts. I also knew I didn’t have the money. I said Yogi let me check my account. He said, “Don’t worry about it … you can pay me later.” Did I hear right? He was saying that I didn’t have to pay him right now. I was near tears but I had to hold it together because I was working. I told him that I would call him back after I checked my account. As it turned out, I was able to pull together enough to pay him $100.00. I promised him that I was good for the rest. He told me not to worry about it. I knew that he meant it.

Yogi fixed my brakes for nothing. He bought the parts with his money and trusted me to pay him back. You can’t tell me that this man wasn’t sent by God to meet a need that I had been praying about. Another answered prayer. You can’t tell me that God doesn’t hear and answer the prayers of His people.

My answered prayer came with the name of Yogi. What’s the name of yours? Daily He is answering the prayers of His people but we don’t recognize Him even when He answers. It can be the biggest miracle or the smallest detail … learning to recognize the hand of God in the various forms that He manifests is something we must do.

Thank you, Yogi for being willing to help a single mom in a time of crisis. You are truly a gentleman and chivalry lives on in you. I will recommend you to everyone I know because I know that you won’t rip them off or take advantage of a woman who may not know as much as you do about brakes and tires. You are always a blessing to me when I stop by your shop and I promise to pray for you, your family and business to be blessed as you have blessed me. There is a biblical principle that applies here which says that you reap what you sow … may you reap all that you have sown into those that you are blessing … because I know that I am not the first nor will I be the last.