Article October 17, 2011 Issue

Eyes opened by a stranger

By Christopher L. Evans

Getting fuel for my car from the pump at the local gas station was usually a mundane routine for me, but this time when I swung the metal nozzle toward my car, the gasoline remaining from the previous customer, splashed into my eyes. As I stood beside the car, with my eyes shut in pain, a man with a thick foreign accent calmly said, “Let me help you.” He began flushing my eyes with clean water to wash away the gasoline.  

Having attended a Christian Science Sunday School all though my childhood, I’d been taught to trust God’s care in every situation. So I began to pray, affirming divine Love’s healing power and that I was all right. After I opened my eyes again, I found that my rescuer was the gas station attendant I’d often seen in times past. From his appearance and accent, I assumed he was from a Middle Eastern country. It was only after I assured him that I was OK and could see normally that he returned to his work. 

This incident occurred not long after the “Arab oil embargo” of 1973–74. I was a college student living in Los Angeles and, like millions of other Americans, I had been waiting in very long lines each time I went to fill up my car. The news media were full of stories about the political tensions in the Middle East, and contempt toward these countries was often expressed. 

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