Compassion

I was on my way to baby sit my grandson today, when I saw something disturbing.

As I exited on to a mix master (one of those cloverleaf things that allow you to move from one freeway to another perpendicular to it) traffic came to a stop. I inched along for a while, unable to see what was holding things up.

About the time I was able to approach normal speed, I came upon an area where several cars had pulled over to the side of the road. My first thought was that perhaps some people had gathered at a spot where a loved one had died, maybe to place a cross and some flowers there; it is not unusual to see something like that along the side of the freeway.

I muttered to myself as I navigated my way through all of these cars which were parked haphazardly along the side of my lane. Surely this tribute to a loved one is not worth causing someone else to have a wreck. Some of the people were huddled together with concerned, almost frantic expressions. Others were talking into their cell phones. More cars were pulling over and people were moving quickly toward the spot where others were gathered. I was startled to see a shoe in my lane; as I passed by, I caught a glimpse of a young man in shorts sprawled in the grass behind the railing to the right of my lane. It was not until I was fully on to the freeway that I looked in my rearview mirror to see his motorcycle, about a hundred yards away from him, crashed on the other side of my onramp.

He must have been thrown from his motorcycle! I tried to imagine the helplessness these witnesses felt as they watched him crash, and then saw his body fly through the air, across their lane, and out of sight behind the railing. As I drove home, I prayed for this young man and his recovery, and thanked God for the compassionate folks who saw a need and stopped to help with little regard for their own personal safety. What a lesson for me......

I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me. Matthew 25:40