In 2003, during a lecture tour of Kenya, we set off at 11:00 am from the town of Kisumu along the shores of Lake Victoria. We had a five-hour drive ahead of us to Nairobi, where I was scheduled to deliver a speech at 8:30 pm. This gave us ample time for the journey, as well as time to freshen up and prepare for the event.
About an hour and a half into our drive, we got a flat tire on a road severely damaged by recent heavy rains. We were travelling in a specially equipped, imported Mercedes minivan lent to us by a friend—a rare vehicle in Kenya at the time, with only a handful in the entire country. We tried to put on the spare wheel, but it required a specific set of bolts that were nowhere to be found in the vehicle. Consequently, our driver had to take a local bus to the nearest village to get the tire fixed while we waited by the roadside. He returned a couple of hours later, and we were back on our way around 3:30 pm.
We made a quick stop in the town of Nakuru to have the repaired wheel checked before speeding off toward Nairobi, as time was now running dangerously short. Just as the sun was setting, a loud bang echoed through the car—another tire had burst, this time completely beyond repair. To make matters worse, we were stranded in a remote, rural area of the Rift Valley, far from any major town or assistance. My heart sank. I prayed for a miracle to save us from the disappointment and embarrassment of having to cancel the event.
A small group of locals gathered around our car to offer help as our driver explained that we needed specialized bolts for the spare wheel. Suddenly, one of the men ran off to his hut and returned holding an original Mercedes kit containing the exact bolts we needed—still in its sealed plastic wrapping! He explained that he had found the kit lying in the grass by the roadside a year earlier, and something deep within him told him to keep it safe for someone who would one day need it. When we offered him money in gratitude, he kindly refused, saying, “They were there for you.” The statistical odds of what had just occurred, especially in such an isolated place, were nothing short of miraculous. I shook my head in awe at the realization that the Universe had placed the solution to our crisis a year in advance of our arrival.
We arrived an hour late to a packed auditorium of over five hundred people who had been remarkably patient. I went straight onto the stage in my disheveled travel clothes and apologized for the delay by sharing what had just transpired, opening with the words:
“The best-laid plans of humans are worth very little, for we control nothing. Our days are filled with miracles, small and large, whose odds of actually occurring are extremely low. Yet, because they happen as seamlessly as they do, we often fail to realize how blessed we truly are. Awe, humility, and deep gratitude can be our only true response to this beautiful journey we call life.”©️ Amyn Dahya
Have a blessed week ahead, my dear friends, graced with peace, happiness and resolution of all your challenges...
Amyn Dahya