The Man In The Motorized Cart

I heard the blood curdling scream.
NO!
Over and over someone was screaming that word.
It was the voice of a child.

I had just entered the store and could hear the child but could not see the child.
As I turned a corner I saw her.
She was in the large basket of the shopping cart, stomping her feet and screaming.
She was opening and closing the back of the seat where she was too big to sit.

Her mother was trying to correct her but the girl’s volume was much too loud.
Her mother was trying to get her to sit down but she stood back up in defiance.
She was doing all the things in a shopping cart that the warnings tell you not to do.
Her mother simply tried to ignore her.

I felt compassion for the mother as she tried to look at things while her daughter screamed.
Every eye in the store was turned towards this child and her mother.
That only made things worse.
There was the Tsk, Tsk,Tsk sound that some older women made as they walked by them.

There were looks of disdain in other faces.
There were looks of judgment.
There was a mental trial going on in the minds of the people.
The mother was found guilty.

It is not as if I took a poll to see what people were thinking.
I didn’t have to do such a thing.
It was obvious in their demeanor.
It was obvious in the fact that they went out of their way to stare.

I got the few things I needed.
It had been a good fifteen minutes and the little girl was still screaming at the top of her lungs.
And then I saw him.
An elderly man in a motorized shopping cart approached the pair.

He smiled at the mother and looked directly at the little girl.
Perhaps it was seeing a stranger before her or perhaps the motorized cart intrigued her.
The screaming stopped.
The whimpering continued, though only slightly audible.

The man spoke gently to the little girl.
I am sure you know how to be a big helper to your mommy, he said kindly.
The little girl just stared at him with her tear stained face.
Your mommy needs you to be a helper and shop quietly so she can get what she needs.

I was touched by his kindness.
The little girl did not know what to make of this man in the special shopping cart.
The mother seemed relieved that she had a brief respite.
For these moments the little girl was quiet and sitting still in the basket of the cart.

The motorized cart hummed as the man rolled away.
The mother looked up and we met eyes.
That was very nice of him, I said.
It was. This was all over a toy, you know, she said giving me an unnecessary explanation.

She saw something over there and wanted it and I said, No, the mother continued.
We have all been there, I said.
She smiled in agreement.
I looked down at the little girl who was giving me half of a smile.

I put my hand on the mother’s arm.
Days like this are never easy, I said to her.
You’re doing a good job! I said as I patted her arm.
It was as if I gave a cool glass of water to someone dying of thirst.

Thank you, she said smiling back.
Her thirst was quenched.
Her confidence renewed.
Her little girl was sitting quietly in the shopping cart.

What a blessing the man in the motorized cart had been to that frazzled mother.
His small act of kindness fortified her.
He quieted a screaming child by his presence.
He encouraged a tired mother by reaching out when everyone else walked by.

I thought about how much our looks, attitudes, and demeanor affect another person.
Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, is unacceptable.
A cup of cold water to a person dying of thirst is the only thing that satisfies.
Our encouragement and our nonjudgmental presence is all someone needs.

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 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: 25-37)

The man in the motorized shopping cart was a neighbor to the frazzled mother.
He could have passed by like the priest and the Levite.
He chose to stop and engage like the Samaritan.
His loving kindness is translated by a Hebrew word, hesed.

Singer, songwriter, and Bible teacher, Michael Card, defines hesed.
The one from whom I should expect nothing gives me everything.
Hesed is the defining characteristic of God in the Old Testament.
Hesed is what the Samaritan showed to the man who fell at the hands of robbers.

Hesed is what the man in the motorized shopping cart showed to the frustrated mother.
The expert in the law was correct when he said the neighbor was the one who showed mercy.
Jesus told the expert in the law to go and do likewise.
How are we doing?

It only takes a few minutes of our time to show hesed.
It is needed in this me-first world.
Hesed is needed in this fast paced, got to get things done, society.
We need to be neighbors to each other.

The man took the time to speak sweetly to a distraught child.
The man did not judge the mother or think she was ill-equipped.
The man did not need to know the details.
The man just reached out and showed compassion.

The man gave a glass of cold water to a mother who desperately needed refreshment.
The man took the time to care.
It only took a minute to bless her.
However the effects of his kindness will be remembered for a very long time.

How are we doing?
Are we being the kind of neighbor Jesus expects?
Are we showing mercy and loving kindness?
Are we following Jesus’ direction?

Go and do likewise.