Yesterday, as I was driving home during a snowstorm, I got stuck in the snow about 3 miles from home. It had taken me an hour and 15 minutes to get that far.
As I sat there trying desperately to get my car moving forward, I saw a man in a pick up behind me getting irritated at me. As were the cars trying to pass in front of me. You see, I got stuck pulling out from a stop sign.
In that moment, I couldn’t help but think “Why doesn’t somebody help push my car and help me get unstuck and out of the way?” Which brings up a more important and pressing question, Where have all the Good Samaritans gone?
You see, back in my day, the 80’s and 90’s, people used to help each other, If you saw someone in the snow, you at least tried to push them free from the snow. I you saw someone broken down at the side of the road or it looked like they ran out of gas, you stopped to see if they were okay or not.
Neighbors knew each other and watched out for each other. People cared about each other. Whatever happened to those days? When did people become so caught up in themselves and their own schedules and lives that they no longer notice or say hi to their neighbors or stop to help those in need?
We need to get back to the place were we stop being caught up in our own lives, in our little words and notice the world around us. We nee to be more aware of those around us and notice when they need our help. We need to take the time to help others when they need it.
To see past our own needs, viewpoints and judgmental options and put yourself in other people’s shoes. Instead of getting angry at the driver ahead of you being stuck in the snow, get out of your car and help push them free of the snow, instead of judging the single mother or the father of four children, ask them what you can do to help them.
It’s easy to sit back and judge people or get angry at them without knowing their whole story. Or what they are going through.
The father of the four children may be working two or three jobs besides the two or three his wife is working just to put food on the table. The single mother might be doing the same.
Perhaps the person broken down along side of the road was on their way to work and could now lose the job they desperately need to keep a roof other their head.
Perhaps that guy or gal dress all in black or covered in tattoos, is a really nice person trying to recover from a rough past or struggling with crippling depression or anxiety just trying to make it through they day and barely doing so. Perhaps they are just looking for someone to care about them and show them that they matter.
Perhaps the person who is at the counter always smiling, laughing and cracking jokes is, in fact, very lonely and needs someone to want to spend time with them and see the real them.
So next time you see someone broken down at the side of the road, stuck in the snow, sitting all by themselves, etc, take the time to stop and see if they need any help. Ask if you can sit next to them, take the time to get to know who the person really is and what they are going through. Taken the time to show them that they really matter, that they are not alone is this world, that you car about them.
It’s the simple things in life, the small things we do to help other, to ease their burdens, that make the greatest difference and leaving a lasting impact on their lives.
I’ll leave you with that food for thought.