2 Hands.

As you grow older, you will discover you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others. ~Audrey Hepburn

 

At what point do you decide you should help someone? The point where they ask for help? The point where you notice that they might maybe could use an extra hand? Or the point when they no longer can help themselves? I don't know which one is appropriate, much less when you are suppose to help someone. I do know that you should help people though, whether they are someone that you know or not. I mean, why wouldn't you? Oh, that's right. You're in a rush for that thing that you are fine being a few minutes late to. 

 

I went around asking people about experiences and what they wanted to read in this blog. Some had nothing to say, others had a whole story to tell. My neighbor and good friend ,Yadira had an especially good one to tell. She told me about recently when she was driving home and going through Northside. Which most of us know it as "the bad side of town". She was driving with her Mom when they saw a woman walking the same way they were driving. Looked toward her Mom and insisted they go back and pick her up. 

 

Now most of us including myself would be skeptical about picking someone up off the side of the road because you just never know. We are taught that you can never be too safe and people are crazy. Anyway back to the story, they turned around and stopped and asked the woman if she needed a ride. The woman gasped in awe and said "yes" she had 3 bags of groceries in her hands. She got inside the car and said "thank you so much, no one stopped and I have walked all the way from 28th street. I am so tired." Yadira immediately introduced herself and the woman did the same. Yadira mentioned to her that God put it in her heart to pick her up, the woman bursted out in tears. The woman said "I thought God hated me right now."; Yadira then explained to her that He loves you and cares about you.

 

Yadira got her number and is continuing to pray for her and her situation. The woman is a Mother of 4 and her car was impounded and she lost her job. Now to some of you this story may seem kind of pointless and to others it may have touched your heart the way it did mine.  It reminds us that no act of kindness is ever to small and that you may think you cant make a difference in someones life because you are just one person but you can. 

 

So at what point do you help someone? Think about all of the people that have helped you in your life and didn't have too. Hopefully you are grateful of those people. Think about if they haven't had helped you with you car that day or they didn't come get you from that party you did not want to be at. Or you were having a bad day and just needed someone to sit in bed and eat ice cream with you. They didn't have to be there for you or help you but they did. Now I know it comes back to the man in front of the gas station asking for money and not knowing if he is worthy of your extra buck or not. He could need it for drugs or he's faking it just to rip people off, but he also really could be struggling and need it more than you. 

 

Take this moment right now and make some sort of vow to yourself. A vow that you are going to help others because you are a good person. A vow that you are going to try to look at any situation from every point of view. A vow that you won't assume the worst in people. I know it isn't easy but if we don't help each other, who will help us?

 

If you please, take this moment to pray for the woman on the road that day. Pray that everything will work itself out for her and her family. Pray for those who can't help themselves right now. 

 

Do that and have a splendid Saturday.