The sound of a
car stopping and four doors slamming would not normally set my heart racing and
my stomach churning, but nothing was normal about this day. It began by
attending my cousin-in-law's funeral in Louisville. He was a hemophiliac who
had contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion. His death was tragic, but
after years of illness, not unexpected. What occurred on the way back from the
funeral, however, was unexpected. We were several miles from the nearest town, traveling
on Interstate 65 when my dad's car overheated and died. We coasted off the
interstate and onto the wide shoulder.
The heat index that day was well over a hundred degrees, and my mom was in bad health. What was I to do? We needed help. We needed a good Samaritan. Unfortunately, prior to cell phones, stranded motorists were at the mercy of other motorists. All I could do was pray, wave, and hope someone would stop. After several minutes of cars zipping past me with my arms waving back and forth, a pickup truck slowed and pulled off the interstate. One man in a truck became our knight in shining armor.
We may not live in the days of kings, castles, and knights; but there are still days when damsels are in distress and families are in need. It can happen at any time, at any place, to anyone. While we may not know when, we do know that sooner or later it will happen. And for us, we soon discovered it could happen twice in one day.
Stranded along I-65 on that hot summer day, I saw both the good and bad. I saw hands intent on hurting and hands that helped out greatly. When it comes to helping hands, skin color, nationality, and religious preference are non-factors; what matters is the help they give.
The man and his truck provided the first set of helping hands that day. To the world his truck was just an old rusty farm truck, but to us, it was beautiful. It was our chariot of hope. Unfortunately, it couldn't seat us all, so I volunteered to go into town and call a friend for help. I was gone just long enough to find a phone and for my mom to find her panic button. She'd seen too many movies of weirdos and perverts cruising the roads in search of their next victim. All mothers are protective of their children, but not all have problems with paranoia. She was certain I would never return.
It didn't dawn on me that my ride with this stranger would trigger a series of events that would require more than his assistance; it would require many hands, including one very special pair of hands--life saving hands.
The event wouldn't make the nightly news, but it would be news worthy. The main character wouldn't be offered a contract or asked to appear on a radio talk show, but he would become the hero of one family who will be forever in his debt.
With the series of events about to unfold, I made my phone call and then returned to my family. My arrival brought an end to my mother's nightmares of my dead mutilated body being dumped into some ditch along I-65. Although her fears were now seen to be unfounded, the effects of her emotional tsunami would soon wash up with almost deadly results.
The gentleman with the truck kindly offered to take my parents to a nearby restaurant and out of the heat. In order to convince my mother to go, I reassured her that I'd be okay. I pointed to all the traffic whizzing by and how they provided security, for no one would pose a threat to me with all the potential witnesses traveling past me. Finally, after promising no more rides with strangers, she agreed to go. I waved as they pulled onto the interstate and then contemplated what to do next. I knew I had at least a two hour wait until our friend would be arriving.
With the hot sun bearing down on me, I found a large rock to sit on. The rock was secluded among some high weeds beside the interstate. There was no breeze, just high humidity. Besides an occasional swipe with my handkerchief to remove the sweat from my face, I sat motionless with a book in my hands. As usual, I became fixated on its words. The sound of the vehicles whizzing by faded into silence as the story and people of the book came alive to me. But just like being awakened from a sound sleep and a pleasurable dream, I was brought back to reality when the sound of a car stopping penetrated my consciousness.
The next sound sent chills up my spine, the sound of four car doors slamming. At that moment, the reassurance I had given my mom wasn't reassuring me. With my heart racing, I slowly stood to my feet. Fear gripped me and uncertainty consumed me as I saw four men heading toward my dad's car. One was carrying what looked like a lug wrench. My mind began racing. It was obvious they were not from the Triple A Auto Club. I've seen the end results of a car left along the interstate. Anything and everything of value is usually taken with no concern for the amount of damage inflicted. The four men were focused on helping themselves to whatever they could take. They carried with them uncaring hands. Theirs were hurting hands. Theirs were opportunistic hands.
Would they view me as a threat to their potential bounty, a threat that needed to be removed? What I had told my mom, I truly believed. I quickly moved out of the weeds into full view of them and the passing motorists, which I viewed as my safety net. Despite being outnumbered 4-1, I felt I had more on my side than they did on theirs. I believe there's enough good in people of all races and nationalities traveling our highways and living among us that, in time of need, they will come to our aid. Not only do I believe this, I feel certain those who would harm us also believe it, at least, I hope they do. As for these four guys, I could not believe they would try anything in full view of the motorists, and I was right. When they saw me rise from the weeds and step out into full view. They didn't hesitate, they quickly turned, and rushed back to their car and sped off.
With my heart rate returning to normal, I went back to my rocky seat and continued reading and waiting. Within an hour another car stopped, but on the other side of the interstate. A lone stranger came walking across the lanes of traffic. Although one man didn't pose the threat of four, for precautionary measures, my adrenal gland kicked into action. I was ready for fight or flight.
As he approached, he asked if my name was Eddie. I had never seen this man before. How did he know me? When I answered in the affirmative, he said he was from Canada. The words "from Canada" blew me away. How could someone from Canada know my name? How could he know I was stranded at this spot?
I was confused. I was in verbal shock. He then quickly stated his purpose. He had been eating at the restaurant where my parents were when Mom became seriously ill. He said that while the ambulance workers were preparing my mom for transport, he asked my dad if there was anything he could do. Dad asked him to come and let me know what was happening and to inform me they'd be at the hospital.
His offer to drive me to the hospital created a conflict. I wanted to be with my parents, but I'd seen the danger of leaving the car unattended. I also had no way of contacting our friend who was coming for the car. I said to the good Samaritan, "I don't know what to do." He replied, "I need to drive on down to find a turnaround spot, so when I come back by I'll stop and check with you. This will give you time to think." As he pulled away, I examined the facts. All I could do for Dad was provide moral support, and Mom would be in the care of the doctors and nurses. My presence, however, could and had already provided physical protection for my dad's car. There was also one more factor. I had faith in some heavenly hands. The book I was reading while sitting on that rock was the Bible. The passage I was reading was Psalm 46. It begins with these words, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah"
Faith in God can enable us to have peace in trying times, but only if the God you have faith in is sovereign. This passage, among many others, stresses the sovereignty of God: God is in total control of everything, despite what my surroundings and circumstances may tell me. When circumstances shout that God is either not good or not in control, I can deliberately choose to trust in God's power and sovereignty. When I do, I experience the peace of God.
What we see at any one particular moment is never the whole picture. My understanding of God caused a wave of faith to rise up within me, washing away my fears. My decision was now an easy one. I would stay and watch over Dad's car until our friend showed up.
When the Canadian returned, I told him my decision and thanked him for his help. I then returned to my rock among the weeds and resumed my waiting and reading. Within an hour or so, my friend showed up. We loaded the car onto his truck and headed to the hospital. The timing was perfect. As we pulled up under the porch-like entrance to the hospital, my dad and mom emerged. She had just been released.
It was only after talking to my parents that I learned the whole story. The man from Canada thought my mom had experienced an asthma attack, but she had actually choked on a piece of meat. (People with an already narrowing of the esophagus find that during a time of high emotions, this restrictive tendency becomes more prominent.) Nothing could be more emotional than imagining your son being murdered by a stranger along I-65.
If not for the quick action of a cook at that restaurant, my mom would have died. He came to her rescue, quickly using the Heimlich maneuver on her. By the time he had dislodged the meat in her windpipe, her color had turned purple and she had virtually lost consciousness.
Our hands can be helping hands or hurting hands. The opportunities are all around us. We can impact families. We can impact society. We can impact the world. But we can only do it if we determine in our hearts to make our hands helping hands for all people. We must rise above petty judgmentalism. We must soar above party politics. We must break away from herd mentalities. We must look beyond the skin tone, character flaws, and bad choices people make, and see only their needs and their humanness.
When the cook came out of the kitchen, he didn't see a white, black, red, or yellow woman; he saw a needy woman. He saw a dying woman. When the EMTs arrived, they didn't see color; they saw a medical emergency. They saw a woman in need.
For our family on that day, the most important set of helping hands was those of a poorly paid, seemingly insignificant cook at a restaurant in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. His hands did more than save a woman's life. He saved my mom's life. He saved my dad's wife. He saved my aunt's sister. He saved my nephews' and niece's grandma.
We are not islands unto ourselves. The importance of each life is woven throughout the fabric of those we call family, relatives, friends, co-workers, and neighbors. What we do for one, we do for many. I give thanks for the many who gave aid on that hot summer day. We may not have money, power, or resources we can share with others, but we do have the one thing that matters most--love. We can love others by sharing ourselves, our time, our energy. We can use our hands to lift the fallen, care for the dying, and help heal the sick. I give thanks for the foreign hands from Canada, the elderly hands that provided transportation, the greasy hands of the cook who saved my mom's life, the trained hands of the EMTs who treated Mom and transported her to the hospital, the hospital staff's hands who treated her, and the hands of a friend who drove over one hundred miles to get us.
No matter how long we live, it will be too short---too short to waste the opportunities that come our way. We can make a difference in our neighbors, our community, and our world. We can be instrumental in bridging the economic, racial, and religious chasms that divide us.
That day opened my eyes to the needs around us. I now try to stay alert to my environment. If we stay alert, it won't be long before the needs of others and our opportunities collide right in front of us. When it does, will you let God use your hands to make a difference in someone's life?
