Spinning Tires

So, I'm sure you know how it goes. Rain is to pretty flowers just as snow and ice is to vehicle trouble. Not that my car got stuck. I mean, don't me wrong, I have car trouble more than I'd prefer. But buying a rear wheel drive car is one mistake I'll never make again. But fortunately, my experience and trial and error with such a vehicle prepared me to assist someone with their own rear wheel drive pain-on-the-ice-rink.

I was walking towards the dining hall just as darkness was setting in when I saw a rather new-looking car attempting to pull out of a parking space. Just to give ya'll a picture, imagine what happens when a snow plow pushes all the snow to one side as it tries to clear a parking area. Well, for every car that was already there, it piles the snow up right behind the tires of the vehicle. After a partial thaw, this forms an ice mountain that a car with zero momentum going in its favor will have trouble getting over. That was the case for this car, too.

Sometimes in life you get stuck. You know where you want to go, but getting there proves more difficult that you anticipated. I find that to be the case in my life occasionally. Sometimes being stuck is more metaphorical than literal, but this example was pretty literal.

Not gonna lie, when I heard the spinning tires I almost kept walking. But when I looked over my shoulder and assessed the problem I realized that I was fully capable of getting that car out of its predicament... I watched the drivers struggle a moment more as I pondered whether it would be rude for me to approach and assume I could handle it, or if it would be at all acceptable to turn a blind eye and hope for the best. Clearly, the driver was female even though I couldn't see through the cars darkly tinted windows. Not only was the driver not pressing the accelerator hard enough to be a guy who is clueless of how to drive in the snow desperately trying to get out before anyone saw him stuck, but it was spinning it's rear tires in front of a girls' dorm building. So, I decided it was safe to assume it would be a girl and I wouldn't humiliate some guy's delicate ego by being a chick who was offering to get his car out for him.

I came over, smiled and waved to get her attention. She saw me coming and rolled her window down.
"You need help?" is what I should have said. But what really came out of my mouth was, "Ya know how to drive in the snow?" Silly me. Of course she didn't. That's why her tires were digging a deeper hole in the ice and slush to get out of.
"Oh do you?!" She said with more desperation that I had anticipated.
 I looked in and saw that her fancy new car didn't have a low gear for some reason. Weird. I guess car manufacturers are preparing us all to be helpless in snow and ice or in an off-road emergency. But anyway, the girl was at a loss, but before I said anything else, she unbuckled and hopped out of the drivers seat. Short story even shorter, I got the car out in a jiffy. But only when I got out and held the door open for the car's rightful driver did I realize how much my assistance had helped this girl out.

There she stood in front of me with her cute, baby bump belly much more noticeable now that she was standing in front of me. "Thank you so much! I didn't know what I was going to do! I'm 6 months pregnant and I wasn't about to be able to push my car over the ice!" she said. How I didn't notice her pregnant-ness before, I have no idea, but I was suddenly hit with the realization of how much offering to help meant to this girl. Offering help could actually be helpful to people. Who knew?

I am so glad I was there and that I decided to approach her and use my knowledge and whatever driving skills I have to assist someone. It reminds me again how privileged I am to have grown up in the country and had plenty of practice getting vehicles stuck and eventually unstuck again. It reminds me that the practice that I had (however intentional or unintentional) prepared me to help someone else in need.
Once again, I have brought my country kid-ness to the city and found myself equipped and useful.

So my point isn't to tell you how awesome I am for helping someone get their car over the ice barrier. Instead, I'd like to encourage you to use what you have been given and learned to help others today. Wherever you have come from has helped you be where you are today. And whatever you bring to the table can equip you to be a blessing to someone else. Also, it can mean a lot more to them to offer a helping hand than you know -just like I didn't know how much she really needed help until I realized that she was pregnant after I got her car out.

Don't walk away from someone in need. We're all alone enough without the people around us turning away. I hope that this is encouraging to you somehow. I know this experience has definitely encouraged me! I also hope that you find ways to make yourself a blessing to others around you, and that you receive the joy that comes with being a blessing.

Drowning

Recently I finished reading a fantastic book. You may have heard of Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis before, but if you've never taken more than a five minute look at it, I'd suggest that you do at some point. There's something about how C. S. Lewis words things and gives graspable illustrations that really helps me understand what he is saying. Points he makes regarding humanity and Christianity and many other topics really hit home not only spiritually, but logically and realistically as well. With an attitude that speaks of partial dedication to Christ being worse than zero dedication, and willingness to take time to clear up any discrepancies that may come up, Lewis has impacted yet another life even after his death. Mine.
So, I decided to thumb through my underlined and annotated copy of Mere Christianity and share one topic or another that struck me.

I've included a reference at the end of the post, however, to give a brief run-down about what topic that I'm about to share that Lewis tackles, here is a bit of background:
The overarching topic is atonement, however, most of the time in the chapter is focused on the fact that Jesus was God. The idea is raised that being submitted to God, suffering and dying must have been a lot easier for Jesus since he was God (and I personally insert that he IS still God and always will be). But the truth clashes with human perspective when people think that it might have been easier for Jesus to go through all that he did since he was God, and as a result, a sense of unfairness comes up. It's that sense of unfairness that Lewis nails with the following illustration.

If I am drowning in a rapid river, a man who still has one foot on the bank may give me a hand which saves my life. Ought I to shout back (between my gasps) 'No, it's not fair! You have an advantage! You're keeping one foot on the bank'? That advantage -call it 'unfair' if you like- is the only reason why he can be of any use to me.

When I read this, I actually laughed out loud. Not because I was amused at the mental picture of myself drowning in a river, but because of the glaring truth that my corrupted human mind had failed to really see. It is a ridiculous idea for a drowning person to reject help from another because the other had some advantage that could aid him. Ridiculous. But if we take the perspective that some advantage on the part of the savior is unfair, then we definitely fail to see that it's really us who are drowning in the river. If I were literally drowning, I'd be fighting pretty hard, but there would come a moment when it finally sank in that I couldn't save myself. That I needed someone to save me.
The reason I need Jesus is because he isn't in the same predicament as I find myself in. The reason I need him is because he knows what he's doing. The reason I need him is because if -cough,- I mean when I'm drowning in bad choices, sin, hurt, and all those other rampant, human nature diseases in this life, he isn't drowning with me. He's in a position that, because of his grace and mercy, benefits me. Thank God that He isn't like me!


So, yeah. It's "unfair" if that's how you want to see it. But from the perspective of someone
I'm drowning in a river every day. I need help. I can't save myself. I can't do it alone.
 He also said, "The perfect submission, the perfect suffering, the perfect death were not only easier to Jesus because He was God, but were possible only because he was God."
No mere human can save you. No level of ambition however high or low can rescue you. No amount of pride is going to help you to the shore of the raging river that you're stuck in. If anything, pride will sink your body faster.


Lewis concludes the illustrations by saying, "To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?"

I know the answer for myself. I will look to the hills and see that my help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. I'll look to him who is stronger than I am. I'd like to encourage everyone to take the outstretched hand of the man who has an advantage for being on the shore while you're in the river. His hand is never out of reach, and he will never pull away. Once you have clasped hands, just know that he will never let you go either.

(For reference sake, this quote is taken from the latter portion of a chapter entitled The Perfect Penitent)