I realized the other day that, in the rush of Christmas craziness, I didn't record something we experienced. It is something I want to remember and hopefully learn from. So, here it is (three months after the event) . . .
The third week of December was a busy one. It felt like I was driving all day, every day. Wednesday morning I noticed that my gas gauge registered close to empty, but I had no time to stop for gas. I made a mental note to stop before Mutual that night. Then, I was running late to Mutual, so I promised myself I would stop the next day. Of course, Thursday was even busier, and my "empty light" was on as I ran here and there and everywhere. In the afternoon I remember picking up Bailey from school and taking all three kids to a ceramic shop to squeeze in Christmas ornament painting before we needed to rush home to meet the notary and sign papers for our mortgage refinance, while watching a friend's newborn baby. Whew. I forgot again to get gas.
Friday morning I had an important very stressful doctor appointment. Because I needed to leave early, Dan had arranged to drive all the kids to school. I hopped in the van and took off toward the freeway. A few miles from home I realized again that I was almost out of gas and that I urgently needed to stop when I got to the gas station. Then I realized in a panic that I had left my purse sitting on the kitchen table, where we had signed mortgage forms the night before, so I had no way to purchase gas. At that very moment my van sputtered and slowed, right in the middle of a very curvy, busy road. It was a terrible place to be stuck - I wasn't even able to pull over to the side, and I was stopped just past a blind curve. As I fumbled for my cell phone, cars careened around around the curve and swerved around me when they saw my hazard lights, barely missing me every time.
I called Dan, who had dropped off two kids and was preparing to drop off Bailey. He was probably 10 minutes away, but said he would come help me as quickly as possible (he had to run home to get the gas can, then meet me on the road).
In the meantime, I sat, very much stranded. I felt vulnerable and scared. I knew there was no way I could push my van out of the way by myself. No one had offered to stop. In fact, quite a few people honked at me, and several even rolled down their window and yelled something unkind. Now I had tears running down my face. Did the impatient people passing me think I wanted to be in this position? I was stranded, I was scared, and I needed rescue because I was incapable of solving the problem myself.
After about five minutes, a man pulled up his big, beat-up truck behind me and jumped out. He ran up to tell him that he would do his best to help. He left his truck there in the road to block the way as he pushed me out of the middle of the road and up the road. It was hard work - I don't think Honda Odysseys are very light! Finally, when I was in a safer position, he stopped, out of breath and exhausted. I thanked him and told him that my husband would be there in a minute with gas. So, he wished me good luck and hopped in his truck and left. I didn't get the name of my anonymous rescuer, and I had no real way to thank him.
Dan and Bailey arrived and switched me cars so I could continue to my doctor appointment. They got gas and walked back to the van. After my appointment I met Dan at his work to switch back our cars and process what had happened. I told him how absolutely frightening the experience had been. I said that I realized what it feels like to be vulnerable and stranded, and we agreed that we should stop if we see anyone in that position. He put the gas can in the trunk of his Hyundai and I took off for home.
Later that evening we had somewhere Christmasy to be (I don't remember where), but Dan arrived home late. He sat down and said, "You're never going to believe this." And this was his story:
As he was leaving work and driving down a busy street, he saw flashing hazard lights to the right side of the road, in a very dangerous spot to pull over. He said that his first thought was to keep driving, because he was in a hurry to get home so we wouldn't be late. He said that any other day he might have not stopped, but, remembering our experience that morning, he pulled over. As he got out, a man and a woman were walking toward the stranded car. He said they looked really dejected. He asked how he could help them, and they said that they had run out of gas and were actually out of money to fill the gas tank. They had walked down the road to a grocery store and had spent an hour asking shoppers for money so they could at least get enough gas to drive home, but no one had given any money. The man was pretty teary, and he said that they had just moved to Vancouver from Hawaii and hadn't been able to find a job. They wished they hadn't moved, because "people here just aren't friendly." It was clear to Dan that this was a couple who had lost hope.
Dan told them that he just *happened* to have a gas can in his car! He poured in the remaining bit of gas from the can, but it wasn't enough to start their car. So, he asked them to wait while he ran to fill it up again at the gas station. While there, he felt like he should get some cash to offer the couple.
When he gave them the gas, money, and some cold waters, they were very grateful and tearful, and maybe a bit more hopeful. As Dan drove away, he thought about how little time and money it had taken to be able to really help someone who was stranded and in need of rescue.
We have thought a lot about this experience. As terrifying as my experience had been that morning, we were grateful that it reminded us that there are other people out there who are feeling hopeless and who might need rescue. It is so easy to drive by, walk by, not notice, be skeptical. In fact, Dan admitted that if the couple had asked him for money at the grocery store, he very well may have turned them away, thinking that the "out of gas" story was fake.
We thought about how Heavenly Father knows and loves the couple who were stranded. He knew they were scared and lonely, and He needed someone to do His work and rescue them, show them kindness, and help them find hope again. Just as my anonymous stranger had rescued me when I was in danger, sometimes we need to be the rescuer. And sometimes we're stuck because of our own unwise choices (I certainly should have chosen to get gas instead of driving on empty for days), but it doesn't change the fact that the stranded person needs help and hope.
Later on, we talked to the kids about the day during dinner. We told them that there are lots of little ways to help people find hope. Sometimes it might be reaching out to the lonely person in the classroom, saying hello to someone we might not usually talk to, praying to be aware of little ways we can help others when they feel stranded and alone. It's easy to be the one driving by, annoyed that a car is stranded and blocking the way as we hurry through life. But, I'll never forget what it was like to be the one stuck. I hope I never again avert my eyes from those in my life who need me to offer hope and rescue.
(One more lesson I learned . . . I have repented of my habit of driving around with the "empty" light on. I have always pushed it to the last drop, convinced that I would never actually run out of gas. Dan could have really given me a well-deserved "I told you so," but he kindly refrained!)
No comments:
Post a Comment