On The Shoulder Of The Road

My oldest daughter and I were having a day together.
We were going out to lunch.
First, we were going shoe shopping for an elegant event to which she is going.
It was delightful to be together.

I picked her up and we drove together.
We were not having success finding a pair of shoes to go with her dress.
We were on our way to the last shoe store before we had lunch.
We were driving on a four lane road towards our destination.

I was in the left lane, knowing that I had to turn at a traffic light up ahead.
I saw something out of the corner of my eye.
Since it was on the shoulder of the road, it was difficult to see over the other cars.
Whatever was up ahead was moving against traffic.

It was a man in a wheelchair.
He was a large man.
He had a long grayish beard.
He had packages on his lap.

As we got closer, I could see packages in a compartment behind his wheelchair as well.
I wondered where he had been.
There was not much on this stretch of road except for a large car dealership.
He seemed to be struggling a bit, as his wheelchair was moving very slow.

I was two lanes over, yet I noticed it.
His right leg had been amputated below the knee.
As I was processing what I was seeing, I turned to my daughter.
She had seen the man as well.

I prayed for him right then and there.
It was dangerous for a man in a wheelchair to be on this road.
Should we turn around? I asked her, knowing that there was really no where to turn.
Oh, Father, please protect him, I said.

I could not get the picture of the man out of my mind.
What if he had fallen out of the wheelchair?
He would not be able to stand on his own.
What was in his many packages?

I wondered what I could have done?
I knew that I would not have been able to lift him into my car.
I wondered if I could have called someone?
The traffic was moving and I was carried along with it.

The shoe store did not have anything that my daughter liked for her dress.
I still saw the man in the wheelchair in my mind.
I wanted to know that he was safe.
There were no houses on that stretch of road, so where was he going?

Would I have done something if I had been in the right lane, near the shoulder?
Would I have stopped?
Was he still there?
How will he get home?

As we left the store and the parking lot, we had to drive back on the same road.
Look over there, I said to my daughter, pointing.
The man in the wheelchair was still on the side of the road not far from where we saw him.
There was a car parked on the shoulder; a man was standing next to him, talking to him.

Oh, I’m glad another veteran stopped to help him, my daughter said.
There was no way of knowing the man in the wheelchair was a veteran.
There was no way of know that he was not a veteran.
It was an assumption she made about both men; she may have been right.

I was thankful for the man who stopped on the shoulder of the road.
He would be able to lift the man if need be.
He would be able to talk to him and understand better than we could.
One man stopped, but how many more thought about stopping?

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?  In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by 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, brought him to an inn and took care of him.  The next day he took out two denarii 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 10:25-37)

We drove by the man in the wheelchair.
We did not drive by because looking for shoes was more important.
We did not drive by because we were indifferent to the man.
We drove by because we were two lanes over and he was moving along the shoulder.

Logical reasons prevented us from helping but it still bothered me.
Mercy is shown to me every day.
I want to show mercy in return.
I want to go and do likewise.

The man who stopped to help the man in the wheelchair was a blessing.
He’s a Godsend, I said to my daughter and meant it.
God sent him to the man in the wheelchair.
Perhaps the man was sent as a result of prayer; my prayer and the prayer of others.

Help comes in all forms.
Help does not look the same in every situation.
One person may be the hands and feet of help.
One person may be the one who prays for help.

Both are important to God our Father.