Last night as I was walking up to wait for my train to get home, I saw out of the corner of my eye a man standing, leaning against a tree and then at that same moment, I saw that man fold to the ground. It took me a moment of watching him to see that he wasn’t getting up that he wasn’t playing around. I knelt down next to him to shield his head from the sun and asked him if he was ok. He mumbled something I couldn’t understand and I asked him if he wanted me to call for help. I understood his yes. So, I called 911 and told him I would stay with him til they arrived. I did just that, talking to the man, trying to keep him awake, keeping the sun off his head and just letting him know he wasn’t alone. I thought of the incident recently somewhere that somebody was shot and people actually walked over the person who laid there and I believe died without even offering help when I was asked later if there was nobody else around to help – like why did you stop and was even told by somebody that they would not have helped.
How could you not help? I would hope somebody would do the same for me if ever necessary.
Well, today on my second morning bus, I had to sit next to somebody who I have never seen on this bus before. (This bus is full of the regular state workers and a few high school students, with the population on it hardly ever varying.) Due to the big hood over the head of this person as well as the manly clothing, I believed I was sitting next to a male. Well, after I was seated, this person began elbowing me. Not softly, but hard. On the tip of my tongue was “Dude, are you really elbowing me like that?” But out of my mouth were coming prayers for this person who obviously had issues to be elbowing me like that.
Well, there was still a seat on the other side of this person and lo and behold, here comes Nancy to take it. Nancy is an interesting woman, one who doesn’t always seem to be likeable in her tough, don’t mess with me attitude. I tried to warn her off with a glance, but that was the only seat left. Well, it took about two minutes and I heard Nancy start saying please watch your elbow. I guess the person didn’t because all of a sudden Nancy was in their face and that’s when the hood came off and I saw it was a female. The bus standers who knew Nancy wouldn’t back down grabbed her and somebody up front gave her a seat. Big Miss next to me was still flapping her mouth and some of the men on the bus told her to drop it.
And there I was, still sitting next to Big Miss with a smile in my heart again at the remarkable differences in us and how important we each are. I am important because I will softly pray for those who need it. Nancy is important because she will get into your face and stop you if necessary (she’s a tiny older thing too.)
So I started singing softly. “All that is within me cries, to you alone be glorified, Emmanuel, God with us…” Big Miss cracked her hood and looked at me. I told her, "You have elbows, I have songs and kept on singing." She said nothing.
Today my prayer request is that we all try to pay attention to those around us as to how to lift them in prayer. You can pray for me to have strength to stick up for me. I can pray for Nancy to have a little softness in her demeanor. We can all pray for Big Miss to find her feminine side that God created her to show and that she can lose some of the weight that causes her to need almost three seats on the bus. We can all pray for those who fall down in life that will have someone who will stay with them til help arrives. We can all pray for those people who think they might not lend a hand. What a wonderful, remarkable God we have that created each of us so differently, just so we can lift each other up in their weaknesses. Hallelujah!
so funny and true too!
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