God Sends Helpers

 I think it was Fred Roger's mother who once told him when he was a kid that if he ever found himself in any sort of trouble in his life, to "always look for the helpers. There are always helpers everywhere." And, in a day and age where we're taught to be suspicious of almost everybody, I've found this to be a true and wonderfully freeing word as I've walked through my own life. Especially when you try to live an authentic life yourself, you're often able to see through people's intentions and discern who is probably safe and who isn't. Living here in Alaska, people get used to helping each other a lot. Even with the current age of cell phones and technology where reliance on human assistance isn't as great as it was a couple generations ago, people here still go out of there way to make sure others are okay. I've watched it over the course of my life, and it's one of the reasons why I love living here. 

This was evident on a recent excursion I had with my family a few hours north of where I live. We'd taken a day trip to one of our favorite spots and had stopped at a pullout to take a picture on the ride home. As we were literally pulling out of the pullout area, two teenagers on 4-wheelers came driving past. Neither was going very fast and we let them pass as we watched the traffic for an opening to get back on the road. All of a sudden, I looked over to my right and the one kid's 4-wheeler was headed off to the far side... with nobody on it. I saw the one in behind suddenly jam on his brakes and jump off his own 4-wheeler and the other kid lying on the ground. We backed up and put our car immediately in park and jumped out to see if they needed help. The one kid was waving for some assistance as he tried to take what turned out to be his younger brother's helmet off to see if he was okay. He said the brother had hit a hole and been thrown off his 4-wheeler. He was bleeding badly from his hand and looked a little dazed. 

As this scene was playing out, I instantly began praying: for his health and for help and wondered if I should dial 911. But just at that moment, I noticed a man and another young fellow in tow (I guessed maybe his son) who got out of their car at the pullout and came walking over. The man asked if the kid was okay and said that he was a doctor and could take a look at him to make sure. After a basic look-over, he determined that the guy was probably going to be okay and his injuries were minor. The older brother had already phoned mom, who was on her way. Within a few minutes, the kid that was thrown from his 4-wheeler was settling down and doing slightly better as he wiped blood from his hand and tried to collect himself a bit. Once we knew mom was coming, we asked if they felt they needed us to stay and they told us they didn't. We assumed everything was manageable after that and got back on the road. I was thankful, however, that we had been there to assist. 

It was not lost on me that literally seconds after I shot a prayer up for the kid's wellbeing that the man appeared who was a doctor and could check on him. It reminded me of the simple truth that God sends helpers. So often, we walk through life feeling like we are alone and have nobody to rely on. While there certainly are seasons of life that are lonelier than others, the reality is that there are always helpers around us. They may be known individuals or they may be strangers, but they are God-sent helpers nonetheless. We just need to ask for eyes to see them. It's a fact that God never leaves us or forsakes us and one way that He does that is through other people who are listening to Him and looking for someone to help or bless. Strangely, your crisis may actually be the answer to someone's prayer. 

In other times, you may be the helper someone else has prayed for. You may find yourself, like my family and I did that day, in a situation where you unexpectedly need to offer some  kind of spiritual, emotional, or physical assistance to a person who is struggling. Are you listening to God closely enough, going slowly and intentionally through your life enough, to catch those moments when they happen? Is your daily world conducive to God sending you on a divine helping mission or might you miss your assignment out of distraction or busyness? There are far more trustworthy people out there then there are ones to be suspicious of and it's absolutely necessary to a healthy society that we learn how to look for and be the safe people who can show up for one another as needed. Life always throws us a few curveballs and we need to aware enough that when one hits us or someone else, we can offer compassion and help in the situation, believing that we've been sent to that precise place at that precise moment for a purpose. 

Look for the helpers. They are always standing by. 

God makes certain of it.