Faith Under Fire

Faith Moore is in her car rushing to her new job as a chef at a popular local restaurant called RightNFrontOfU when her car suddenly catches a flat tire. With the ensuing car trouble she will surely be late at her new demanding job which she desperately needs and fears she will risk losing. Faith proceeds to pull to the side of the road where an elderly gentlemen named Christopher is checking his mailbox. As Faith comes to a complete stop, she picks up her phone to call AAA, but finds that her phone is dead from having not been charged. She angrily gets out of her car and catches the attention of Christopher.

Faith: Um excuse me sir.

Christopher: Yes maam?

Faith: Can I use your phone to call a tow truck, I just caught a flat and I have to be at my new job in the next 30 minutes.

Christopher: Yes maam, follow me inside.

Faith: Thank you.

Faith follows Christopher into his house where he points her to the house phone in the living room where she calls AAA.

Faith: Hi, yes my name is Faith Moore, I just caught a flat on 2038 Deliverance Dr. and I was wondering if you guys could send a tow truck out to help me move my car to an auto shop near my job.

AAA representative: Yes maam, we can assist you, but it's gonna take our driver about 40 minutes to make it out to where you are.

Faith: Oh crap that means I'm gonna be late, alright whatever, I'll be waiting.

Christopher watches on standby as Faith finishes her call. Viewing her anxiousness and frustration he decides to confront her.

Christopher: Have a seat right here on the couch until your tow truck gets here. Whats your name darlin'?

Faith: Faith...Faith Moore

Christopher: Faith, that's a beautiful name, I really like that. I'm Christopher, Christopher Montgomery.

Faith: Nice to meet you Christopher, thank you for letting me use your phone.

Christopher: It's no trouble at all. So Faith, tell me, what is it you do for a living?

Faith: I'm a chef, cooking has always been my passion. I recently earned my degree in Culinary Arts and was offered this new job at one of the biggest restaurants in the state “RightNFrontofU”.

Christopher: I know that place, thats the new fancy joint right? Where they cook the food right in front of you like Kabuto or Arigatos.

Faith: Yes, and I was supposed to be one of the new cooks.

Christopher: You say was as if you're not one anymore.

Faith: Well I won't be after this. I'll probably be fired for being late on my first day. See my boss is very strict and very demanding and I have a feeling she's gonna give me the boot if I don't make it their on time on my first day. It really stresses me out because I really needed this job.

Christopher: Calm yourself sweetheart, I'm sure this isn't as bad as you think.

Faith: How can it not be? I'm finally in the career path of what I love and I fell into a pitfall on my way to the finish line. The funny thing is I don't even know what caused the flat on my car because I don't even remember running anything over.

Christopher: Well you know, I've come to understand in my 70 plus years on this planet that strange occurrences like this are not as random as they seems, sometimes it's God at work.

Faith: Well not to undermine your intelligence sir, but I'm not really one for God and religion.

Christopher: No offense taken, everyone is entitled to their beliefs or a lack of. If you don't mind my asking, what is the frame of mind that keeps you from believing in God?

Faith: Well it's just every day life really. I always see good things happening to bad people and bad things happening to good people. The way I see it is, if God is real then why would he let so many unfair things happen to people who don't deserve them?

Christopher: Well sweetheart, as a lifelong Born Again Christian, I've come to understand that the reasoning behind God's ways are very complex and never easy to understand. There are some things we aren't supposed to understand, we're just supposed to trust him and believe that he is using every setback as a set up for something good.

Faith: So you're suggesting that maybe God caused or allowed me to catch a flat for my own good?

Christopher: Possibly.

Faith: But mr. Chris, how can putting me in a position that could possibly cost me my job be a good thing?

Christopher: Maybe by putting you in a position that could cost you your job, he saved you from a position that could have cost you your life.

Faith: Well my anger and anxiety suggest otherwise.

Christopher: Keep a positive mind dear, we don't know everything we think we know. Try to hope for the best.

As Faith sits thinking about Christopher's words, AAA towing services finally arrive in front of the house to pick up Faith's car and give her a lift to work. Before Faith departs she is confronted by Christopher.

Faith: Well thank you for everything mr. Christopher.

Christopher: Wait Faith, before you go I want you to have this

Christopher hands Faith a piece of paper.

Christopher: Its my phone number, if you ever need anything or want to talk, don't hesitate to give me a call.

Faith: I won't, thank you again for your help.

Faith gets in the tow truck and her and the driver make their way to her restaurant. As they pull up to the parking lot of RightNFrontOfU, the restaurant is surrounded by dozens of onlookers, an ambulance and a fire truck, as smoke emanates from the roof and windows of the building. A confused Faith exits the truck and approaches her boss who is pacing back and forth in a state of shock.

Faith: Evelyn what happened?

Evelyn: We had a gas leak and it started a fire, a big one, it basically was an explosion. A couple of our employees got hurt bad.

Faith: Oh my God, are you serious?

Evelyn: Yes, the leak happened by the chef's table and the crazy part is if you had showed up on time and fired up the equipment without us knowing there was a leak, it would have been worse and I'm almost certain you would have been killed.

Faith is taken aback at what she just heard.

Faith: I didn't make it here on time because I caught a flat.

Evelyn: Well I guess we can say that was dumb luck then right?

Faith: ...No I think it was more than that.

The words of Christopher Montgomery start replaying in Faith's mind “Maybe by putting you in a position that could cost you your job, he saved you from a position that could have cost you your life.”

Faith: Oh my God. What's gonna happen to us?

Evelyn: Our staff will be moved to another store on the other side of town until our store gets repaired.

Faith: Evelyn can you give me a ride somewhere?, there's someone I need to see right now

Evelyn: Sure hun.

Faith and Evelyn get into Evelyn's car where Faith directs her to 2038 Deliverance Dr. They pull up out front to find Christopher Montgomery watering his garden. Faith quickly gets out the car as Evelyn waits looking slightly confused. When Christopher spots her she quickly and tearfully runs to him and gives him a big hug as he stands confused.

Christopher: Faith, my dear, what is it?

Faith (tearfully): Christopher there was an explosion at my job and if I had made it there on time I would've been killed in it. You were right, everything does happen for a reason, and I think the reason is God.

As Faith continues to cry passionately, Christopher comforts her.

Christopher: It's ok sweetheart. You're ok and that's all that matters. You've seen the fruit of the spirit and that's a wonderful thing.

Faith: I think God wanted me to meet you today, so that I could meet him. Do you attend church?

Christopher: Yes, it's called New Life Worship, it's just 10 minutes down the road.

Faith: Would it be ok if I joined you?

Christopher: You are more than welcome.

Faith: Thank you.

Faith and Christopher hug each other in gratitude, appreciating God for showing them both why it is important to have faith under fire.