Dead Batteries: Putting Love to the Test

I was running late for work. My keys came out like a silver flash, my front door was locked, and the car was started. Because of the time of the day--about 12 noon--I decided on route number one, because it would be easier to turn left from my street. I made it to the first major intersection and waited in the right-hand, left turn lane (make sense?). My fingers tapped on the steering wheel as I watched the dashboard digital clock (a math teacher I had in high school told the class once that the clock moves slower if you watch it) so this day I did. I was staring a hole through it.

Then the driver's door from the car in front of me opened while the light was still red. The driver, a short, stocky, older gentleman with thinning, white close-cut hair and glasses stepped out. He walked to the car next to him (left-hand left turn lane) and spoke to that driver through his window.

My first thought: he's asking for directions. My fingers tapped faster, the air conditioning kept me cool. The light was going to turn green any moment. I muttered,"Get back in your car, get back in your car, get back in your car." The man turned from the driver's window and headed back over to his car. My heart rate slowed. But before he reached for his door handle he trotted over to the car on his right which was stopped at the light and about to go straight. He spoke to that driver for a few seconds then turned and faced my car. The light turned green. What!? What are you doing?!

His car sat motionless in front of me as cars in the left-hand turn lane curved out of the lane and into the huge intersection. I was trapped. I imagined the seconds speeding by. I played the phone call to my manager in my head. The air conditioning was no longer helping. I spoke to myself and to the man approaching my car hoping he would hear me through the wind shield,"The light is green! Go back to your car! I'm gonna be late for work."

He tapped on the glass next to me. I rolled down my window.

"Yep," I said.
"Uh, can you help me jump start my car? I've got cables."
I huffed.
"Well....I'm gonna be late for work, but yeah, I can help you. I have to make a phone call first."

It was done. I called work and let them know I would be late and what the situation was. All around me traffic was zooming by. Here I was in this busy turn lane at this hectic intersection. It was hot out. It was humid. I was late for work.

The man said,"I was hoping that other guy was going to help me but he didn't think he could get his car pulled over from his lane in front of mine to jump it. Can you pull around and get closer?"

"Pull around? I don't think that's gonna be possible out here. Is your car a stick shift?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
"Well, we should probably get it out of the way here and push it over into the gas station across the intersection so we can jump it there."

I told the man to put the car in neutral so I could see how easy it would be to push. It was a little toyota and rolled easily.

"You get in and steer and I'll push it through the intersection." I said as the first beads of sweat formed on my head. The gentleman hopped in and I hunched and braced myself against the trunk and watched the light like a track star waiting for the gun.

Green. I heaved. The little car rolled slowly at first, but within a couple of seconds I was building speed. As I pushed harder I realized that the man could probably just "pop" the clutch and get the thing started. Anyone who has a stick shift should know about popping the clutch. So I kept pushing, drops of sweat stinging my eyes. No clutch. No car jerk. I was getting pissed. I was hot. I was late. My car was still parked back in the turn lane. I would have to cross two busy streets which would take several more minutes, just to get back to my car so that I could wait another couple of minutes at the light to drive it back and take another couple of minutes to jump his car.

The man's toyota rolled up the driveway and into the gas station parking lot. It slowed to a stop and the man got out. Sweat starting showing through my shirt turning the color dark. With shortened breath I said,"Why didn't you pop the clutch? Have you ever done that before?"

And that's where the whole thing finally struck. It struck like a hammer. The man answered,"I'm so sorry. I've been in chemo, so my head's been a little fuzzy lately."

My heart sank and my mind raced back to the very beginning of this ordeal. I told him that I'd be right back and jogged back to the cross walk. I waited for the green walk signal. Several minutes it seemed. It turned. I jogged across one boulevard and waited for the next signal...for several minutes. It turned. I jogged across and got to my car.

I drove out of the lane and through the intersection into the gas station, facing my car to his so that the jumper cables would reach. We hooked 'em up; electricity brought his little car back to life. The gentleman, with his short-cropped, white hair and round glasses thanked me again and again. I said no problem at all. Anytime. I drove away to work.

Mission Accomplished?

I had failed. I failed. God had given me the perfect opportunity to show the world who and what Jesus is and I blew it. I thought about the beginning of the situation with the man and regretted the way I spoke to him. I was disappointed in myself. When others heard this story they said,"Well, don't beat yourself up about it. You were the one who was actually out there helping him." And they're right. I was out there helping him, but I was empty when I did it. I immediately thought of verses from Paul's letter to the Corinthians when he spoke about actions without love. 1 Corinthians 13 is used so many times as part of a wedding ceremony, but it applies to so many situations:

"...If I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give my body to hardship, that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs....it always protects, always trusts, always perseveres."

I was worried about being late for work when really, knowing the owner and manager at work, they would have appreciated the fact that I gave up some of my time to help someone in need. Work would still be there when I showed up.

Some people volunteer at a rescue mission. Some people serve the community through their church. Some people work with non-profit organizations like Habitat For Humanity. Those are amazing ways to serve and I would encourage anyone to find those channels and get involved. But those channels can also make things a little too convenient. We get an email or a phone call letting us know of a service opportunity and we jump into the car and go. We show up with a smile and our "Christian" badge on and take it off as soon as we leave. But sometimes God can present opportunities for us while we're on the way, while we're just walking around staring at the cracks in the sidewalk. We need to lift our heads to take note of the people around us. We have to keep our hearts open to those trickier, more hidden situations that God sets before us when we're not expecting it. Ones that we didn't get an email about. On his time not ours.

I arrived at work and everything was fine. Ultimately, I was only about 15 minutes late and no one seemed to care which made me feel worse about my earlier actions. I asked God for forgiveness and went to work, hoping that I would be ready the next time.