Help, I Need Somebody

I was sitting in my car alone, waiting for my son to finish an appointment. As I stared through the windshield glazed with rain I began to cry. Within a minute the water on the glass and the water in my eyes mixed together and I couldn’t see much. I was thankful for that vehicle as it was a gift from my in-laws. And it had far exceeded the average life-span for that make and model. But I also knew the car was ready to give up the ghost and I didn’t have the money or the skills to fix it.

It was around then I started praying for a vehicle. This was a tough prayer for me because I don’t like asking for help, from God or from people. A few months passed and my family received another gift, this time from our friends who were relocating to the southern hemisphere. It was a black Nissan pickup truck. I was sitting in the passenger seat of the truck when my friend made the offer. Completely blind sided by the generosity I started to cry. I cry a lot around vehicles.

But God didn’t stop with the truck. It came with a warranty of sorts. If I cover the cost of parts, sometimes the labor is free. The catch is I have to ask for help. A few months ago the brakes started squealing. My wife encouraged me to call my mechanically-minded brother-in-law. He and one of our good mutual friends took an afternoon to teach my boys and I how to change the rotors and pads. The men above are among some of the best I know.

And then just recently I had the truck back in his garage for a different sound. The day before I was boxed into the middle lane on the interstate and unable to avoid the twin mattress in my path. I mowed over it going 70. After pulling over, my son and I climbed under the truck and spent a few minutes unwrapping pieces of shredded fabric from the rear axel. Though it helped, the buzzing noise didn’t go away. My brother-in-law quickly diagnosed the issue. The collision had knocked a brake hose causing it to hang down and rub as vehicle accelerated. The fix amounted to some tape and a few zip ties. 

I don’t claim to know how this all works but I do know I am a lot more likely to receive help if I am willing to be humble and ask for it. This is true of men and of God. And the line between those two is usually blurry. When we cry to God for help he often sends his people.