This morning I read a beautiful story of a person who responded to a call in the airport for a distraught woman who could not speak English. The airline asked for someone to come who spoke this language and she made it her business to come. When the crying woman heard her native language spoke, she calmed immediately and realized she had not missed her flight and visible relief transformed her countenance. To add to the sweet story, the rescuer phoned her sons and gave the phone to the mom for them to confirm they would be on the other end to pick her up. When the panic was subsided, the elderly woman pulled a sack of homemade donuts out of her bag and began to share them with all the women around her. Not one declined. A little girl came to hold her hand and a community was built. It was then that a small, fuzzy green plant was noticed in her bag. It was tradition to bring a potted plant to symbolize being rooted wherever you are in the world. This story struck home with me.
How often do we see a situation where there is distress? The first thought can tend to be, “it’s none of my business”. Why isn’t it our business? I know I can certainly make it “my business” when someone gets up in my grill and I want to let them know about it. How about less of that and more of this. We are human beings with the purpose to care for one another as we love Jesus in wholeness. One afternoon, Kevin and I were driving home from the grocery store many years ago, before we had children. It was pouring rain and there was an elderly woman pushing a cart with a couple of grocery bags up a hill. We stopped to ask if we could give her a ride. It was evident she wanted a ride yet fear of strangers overtook her. I managed to convince her that we were safe and we loaded her groceries into our car and drove her to her house. Kevin loaded her groceries onto her porch and we bid our goodbyes. He would have taken them in to put them away for her too but her comfort level had already been stretched. We “made it our business”.
This has become a reflex now. Yes, sometimes there is a refusal of the help offered but even then I think there is a small restoration in the heart of a person when the offer is there. Something in the faith of the goodness of humanity is restored when we “make it our business” and reach out to care for each other. This week, I felt helpless to care for our daughter all the way in Toronto. She has no vehicle and needed a table/chairs and a place to put her clothes. I reached out to someone I only know in name and is a sister of a dear friend of ours. She responded with such grace and kindness, willing to help. It brought me to tears of thankfulness. She “made it her business” and it blessed my heart. We have the privilege of being a “home away from home” for a few university students because we “made it our business”. Next time we see a person struggling, step over that feeling of awkwardness and offer assistance. This is the kind of world I want to live in – where people care for one another as we would want to be cared for. This is love.
You must be logged in to post a comment.