Things On The Side Of The Road

For some reason, I was remembering suit shopping with my husband.
This particular time was years ago, when we only had two children.
Mu husband had finished courses for his MBA degree and graduation was approaching.
I insisted he actually walk with his class; he would have been fine with the diploma alone.

It will be good for the girls to see you, my reasoning at the time.
Though how much a two-year-old and a four-year-old would grasp was to be determined.
We sat on bleachers; I wondered if the gap between rows would swallow our daughters.
It didn’t and thankfully we left with our two girls intact.

The girls came with us the day we went shopping for suits.
I was well stocked for the excursion.
Stroller, books, goldfish, juice in Sippy-cups, favorite toys, coloring book and crayons.
I am sure the salesman thought I was permanently moving in.

Many suits were chosen, many were tried on, but only two would be purchased that day.
You look handsome, Daddy was said over and over.
True sentiment along with being her new found word.

I think the salesman enjoyed the reaction of our girls.
There was clapping, oohing, aah-ing, and the constant hugs around knees.
I am sure he was certain that a large commission would be his for the taking.

We left with two suits purchased and marked for alterations.
The girls didn’t understand, Why did we leave without Daddy’s clothes?
We explained, but they moved on to a new topic.

Car loaded, stroller folded up, juice cups empty, goldfish gone; a productive morning.
As we began to drive away, I noticed something on the street near the curb.
I told my husband to stop.
The little girl in me wanted to see what it was.

It looked like a dollar bill and my husband thought I was being ridiculous.
He humored me and I got out of the car only to find a twenty-dollar bill.
Who finds twenty dollars on the street?
It made my day!

My husband did indeed walk with his class and received his MBA degree.
There was clapping, oohing, aah-ing, and hugs around knees.
You look handsome, Daddy was said over and over.
Remember when Mommy found the money on the street to buy your suits?

If they only knew.

Sometimes, we just don’t get it.
We connect the dots, but we connect them wrong.
We see something on the side of the road and we pass it by.

A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So, too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him,” he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.” Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers? The expert in the law replied, ” The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:30-37)

What treasure we find on the side of the road.
Twenty dollars, that a child thought was enough to purchase a suit, is one thing.
A person, made in the image of God, is another.

We often think that only trash and debris can be found along the roadside.
The priest and the Levite treated the man just like that.
What they were doing, and where they were going, were far more important than the man.

The Samaritan could relate.
Samaritans were despised.
The Jews considered them “half-breeds” because they intermarried with foreigners.
They adopted idolatrous religion; and were despised by the Jews.

Yet this Samaritan saw the importance of what was on the side of the road.
He saw the value and worth of his neighbor when no one else took the time.

The despised Samaritan became the Good Samaritan.
We use that phrase in our everyday speech, describing someone who helps another.
It is so much more.
It is someone who took the time to pick up something on the side of the road.
Time that no one else seem to have.

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world and the despised things and the things that are not to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus who has become for us the wisdom from God, that is our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, ” Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:27-31)

You never know what you might find on the side of the road, if you only look.