We Are Helpers
One morning on my way to church in Kansas City, I stopped for a long traffic signal. A lady pulled beside me trying to ask me something. I turned off the radio and rolled down the window. “How do I get to Troost Avenue?”
“It’s straight ahead,” I said. “Just keep going about three or four miles; you can’t miss it. Tell you what---just follow me. I will take you most of the way.”
When the light changed, she pulled in behind me and followed. Something about this lady seemed familiar---about fifty with neat, gray hair; she had an accent that intrigued me. It was crisp and precise---not eastern entirely, certainly not British, and not the brogue of my native New Orleans. She had a special child in the car with her. I kept trying to put the pieces together.
We stopped for another long light. I got out and said, “When I turn left up here, you just keep going straight. In a few blocks, you will come to Troost; then turn and go right.”
“Thank you very much,” she said. “I want to go to Rockhurst (a Catholic university).”
“Ah, that rang a bell! Though I could not see how she was dressed, obviously she was a Catholic sister. The precise speech, the neat, plain haircut, the plain glasses---it all fit together now. She was taking the child to some special event at Rockhurst College. I decided to lead her all the way to Troost. I wanted to go further, but I had an appointment.
She pulled beside my car at the last traffic signal. “Rockhurst College is a few blocks north. You will find it easily,” I said through the window. She thanked me; and when I turned left at Troost, she turned right. I glanced around to wave goodbye, and she threw me a kiss.
Now I ask, can a Catholic sister throw a strange man a kiss or is my whole “sister” theory incorrect. It is still a mystery to me. Nevertheless, it was a good experience. She was helping a child in need. I helped her a tiny bit. She felt good, and I felt good.
Experiences like these sweeten the world. There is a scripture I learned as a child that applies here. It says simply, “We are helpers.” (2 Corinthians 1:24)
Try it! It makes you feel good!
