soapbox

it’s friday night. i have spent each passing day increasing the amount of media stimuli into my brain. i no longer know how i feel about the situation or how i should act. on one hand i feel that everyone needs to drop everything and figure out a way to donate money. on the other hand i feel that it’s their own fault. that sounds contrite, but i must say that i have honestly tried to read both items from both perspectives. there were warnings and what not. but this is not the point. the deed is done.

response

it’s not the president’s fault. it’s not the federal government’s fault. it’s nobody’s fault. i truly believe everyone is trying. it’s a catastrophic event that needs a miracle. in this day and age miracles are hard to come by.

so, tonight heather and i were caravaning home, when i saw a motor home with no lights on sitting on the side of the road. there was a man running back and forth from the engine compartment to the where the keys were in the ignition. there was also a pair of jumper cables lying in the road. i passed by at about 30 mph and looked in my rear view mirror. it’s 9:30ish and i need to get my wife and kid in bed. (maddie was at nama and papas) i rounded the corner and the motor home disappeared from view. my mind started processing millions of calculations per second and i pulled over. heather pulled up next to me and i told her i was going to see if that guy back there needed some help. she agreed and told me that she loved me and to hurry home.

i rolled up next to the guy and offered a jump. he accepted. i offered to help and he just told me he was a mechanic and did this for a living. so i waited patiently while he hooked up the cables and then tried to start the motor home. nothing. he yelled out the window to throw some revs. i obliged the request. in all the commotion i think i must have been a bit nervous because i forgot that the car was in drive. luckily i remembered to put the emergency brake on. i lurched forward just a bit. panicked and then did what i was told. i had serious sweaty palms and brows after that.

the motor coach roared to life and he said thanks in his own gruff way. i hopped in my car and drove away. as i drove i played the scenario over and over in my head. and i thought, he was kind of gruff and not very gracious. then i caught myself. i was not there to recieve praise. i was there to help someone in need.

so today i hope is a turn in my life. a turn where i will act upon instinct. Christ calls us to help because there are those that need. we should not help with the expectation to receive a thank you. we help because that is exactly what we are called to do.