I almost didn't post this because it seems that I missed the window of opportunity, but I feel that it's too important to miss. If you're in a big hurry, just skip to the last paragraph.
Three days after Hurricane Harvey hit south Texas, I was praying for God to show me how to physically give aide. I wanted to serve on a team with Samaritan's Purse, but our travel schedule prevented that from happening. I had to accept that I can't do everything I want, even if what I desire is good. So, I prayed for God to show me if I was missing anything. That morning, I drove our youngest son to work at the church (he does childcare for the mom's group). This story began on my drive home.
I came to the intersection where I would leave a neighborhood to enter a much larger road, still a regular community road but a more major road that goes through our home town. That road happens to be under construction, so it is down to one lane in sections and much more congested. I had to turn left, requiring me to cross 2 lanes and the median. As I waited, I noticed that something just wasn't right further up the road.
I finally got across the street, and as I headed up the road, I realized what was wrong. An SUV was sitting in the center of one lane and everyone was having to go around them. My memory flashed back to one time when my car decided to stop in the middle of the road. I will never forget the horrible feeling. My fuel pump had gone out while I was on a major highway (75, if you know north Texas). I managed to exit onto the access road using the momentum. However, as I a tried to turn onto a side road, the car lost all it's momentum and stopped dead in its tracks. If you ever experienced this, you know that all steering ability is lost (a negative side effect of power steering). I was stuck blocking most of the two lane road, facing the oncoming vehicles.
I'll never forget those few minutes of embarrassment and panic. I couldn't do anything. People were literally honking at me, giving me dirty looks, and just generally angry with me as they tried to get around me. Seriously, they were behaving as if I had thought it would be a good idea to just park there. Not a single person stopped their car, asked if I needed help, or even gave me an encouraging look. They were literally annoyed or angry at the inconvenience.
Now, back to 2017. As I see this person in their car, I know they are probably also feeling what I felt. Again, NOBODY was stopping to help this person. I knew that I couldn't really do anything for her. I could see her on the cell phone, so she was calling for help. BUT, at the same time, I knew she probably felt alone and embarrassed. I had to stop, even just to encourage her. If Troy and Tyler were with me, we could have just pushed the car out of the road, but, alas, I was alone.
I had to make two u-turns to get back to her, but I did it. I stopped my car out of the way and walked up to her driver window. To make the situation even more amusing, she spoke very little English. I did understand enough to realize that her car was in gear but the engine just revved. The transmission must have gone out.
I called a mechanic friend to confirm (I realize there wasn't anything he could do, but maybe he'd have some magic suggestion. Either way, I was grasping at straws.) As I hung up the phone, I heard a voice behind me. "Do you need help?"
It was a man. Before turning around, I started talking, "yes, do you speak Spanish?" By the time I got to the end of the sentence I was facing 3 Hispanic gentlemen. They all spoke Spanish and the driver also spoke English. As we walked to the woman, I told them the problem. They communicated with her and asked her to let one of the men sit in the driver seat. He steered, one guy blocked off that busy road we were on, and the rest of us pushed the car out of the way.
Once we were safely on the side road, the woman said her husband was coming. The rest of us walked back to our cars. As we walked, I thanked the man who spoke some English. He said, "For me, I have my wife. She drives. Some day she might need help and I would want someone to stop. I can't leave someone who needs help."
That's it, people. It took 17 minutes total from when I stopped my car to when I was driving again. If another car had stopped sooner, it could have been 2 or 3 minutes. The delay in the traffic was probably close to a minute or two. Stopping to help her wouldn't have taken much more time than maneuvering around her.
So, here's the lesson. Remember that I said this was 3 days after Hurricane Harvey hit. Pretty much everyone was trying to find ways to help. Collecting stuff, giving money, and doing whatever else they could. This is a good thing. Harvey was a huge disaster and help is needed. BUT, let's not ignore the little things that could be done at any given moment. If we only help in the big crises, I personally don't think it counts as much. The little things are the true sign of our heart.
Three days after Hurricane Harvey hit south Texas, I was praying for God to show me how to physically give aide. I wanted to serve on a team with Samaritan's Purse, but our travel schedule prevented that from happening. I had to accept that I can't do everything I want, even if what I desire is good. So, I prayed for God to show me if I was missing anything. That morning, I drove our youngest son to work at the church (he does childcare for the mom's group). This story began on my drive home.
I came to the intersection where I would leave a neighborhood to enter a much larger road, still a regular community road but a more major road that goes through our home town. That road happens to be under construction, so it is down to one lane in sections and much more congested. I had to turn left, requiring me to cross 2 lanes and the median. As I waited, I noticed that something just wasn't right further up the road.
I finally got across the street, and as I headed up the road, I realized what was wrong. An SUV was sitting in the center of one lane and everyone was having to go around them. My memory flashed back to one time when my car decided to stop in the middle of the road. I will never forget the horrible feeling. My fuel pump had gone out while I was on a major highway (75, if you know north Texas). I managed to exit onto the access road using the momentum. However, as I a tried to turn onto a side road, the car lost all it's momentum and stopped dead in its tracks. If you ever experienced this, you know that all steering ability is lost (a negative side effect of power steering). I was stuck blocking most of the two lane road, facing the oncoming vehicles.
I'll never forget those few minutes of embarrassment and panic. I couldn't do anything. People were literally honking at me, giving me dirty looks, and just generally angry with me as they tried to get around me. Seriously, they were behaving as if I had thought it would be a good idea to just park there. Not a single person stopped their car, asked if I needed help, or even gave me an encouraging look. They were literally annoyed or angry at the inconvenience.
Now, back to 2017. As I see this person in their car, I know they are probably also feeling what I felt. Again, NOBODY was stopping to help this person. I knew that I couldn't really do anything for her. I could see her on the cell phone, so she was calling for help. BUT, at the same time, I knew she probably felt alone and embarrassed. I had to stop, even just to encourage her. If Troy and Tyler were with me, we could have just pushed the car out of the road, but, alas, I was alone.
I had to make two u-turns to get back to her, but I did it. I stopped my car out of the way and walked up to her driver window. To make the situation even more amusing, she spoke very little English. I did understand enough to realize that her car was in gear but the engine just revved. The transmission must have gone out.
I called a mechanic friend to confirm (I realize there wasn't anything he could do, but maybe he'd have some magic suggestion. Either way, I was grasping at straws.) As I hung up the phone, I heard a voice behind me. "Do you need help?"
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| They were in their work clothes, so that helped. :) |
Once we were safely on the side road, the woman said her husband was coming. The rest of us walked back to our cars. As we walked, I thanked the man who spoke some English. He said, "For me, I have my wife. She drives. Some day she might need help and I would want someone to stop. I can't leave someone who needs help."
That's it, people. It took 17 minutes total from when I stopped my car to when I was driving again. If another car had stopped sooner, it could have been 2 or 3 minutes. The delay in the traffic was probably close to a minute or two. Stopping to help her wouldn't have taken much more time than maneuvering around her.
So, here's the lesson. Remember that I said this was 3 days after Hurricane Harvey hit. Pretty much everyone was trying to find ways to help. Collecting stuff, giving money, and doing whatever else they could. This is a good thing. Harvey was a huge disaster and help is needed. BUT, let's not ignore the little things that could be done at any given moment. If we only help in the big crises, I personally don't think it counts as much. The little things are the true sign of our heart.
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