First Baptist Church of Herndon

Will you always act?

Linda Soller | Dec 31, 2012

She was sitting in the left turn lane behind a white SUV. The green light was solid so they had to yield to the oncoming traffic. It was Christmas day and she was on the way to her childhood home to celebrate with family and running a touch late. The CD was playing “White Christmas” but there was no snow to be seen; it was a beautiful clear day. Then the unthinkable happened. The driver in the SUV began to make the left turn in front of the oncoming cars. What were they thinking? Clearly there was no way to make it safely across. She sat and watched, helpless to do anything, as an unassuming sedan crashed in to the side of the SUV which had barely made it to the middle of the lanes it was trying to cross. The driver of the SUV pulled off the road after the impact. She could see that no one was getting out of their car and the other traffic was simply maneuvering around the two crashed vehicles and the debris in the intersection. She paused for a moment and thought she should call 911. It was the first time she had ever had to use the number. She reported the accident, when finally the driver of the sedan got out of his car, his passenger was still inside. Within seconds an animal control van pulled up to help block traffic and close behind the police. Meanwhile she observed drivers all around getting angry and driving in all directions to get on their way. She realized she was the only one who had stopped. She went over to the policeman and told him what she had observed. As she said, “The driver of the SUV entered the intersection cutting this man off,” she observed a wonderful look of relief on the man’s face. He said, “Thank you, I tried but there was no way I could avoid the crash.” She replied, “It could have been much worse.” Indeed with cars all around, only the two were damaged. After leaving her name and phone number with the police she went on her way. She was really late now, but the look on that man’s face made it all worthwhile.

No one else stopped. People who clearly saw what happened, who may have for an instant feared they might somehow be hit by a sliding car or debris did not stop.  It brings to mind the story of the Good Samaritan. When all others, those of high standing in the community and faith, could not be bothered to help the injured traveler the Samaritan stopped. On the Today show I heard Ann Curry mention a movement called “26 Acts,” where people are encouraged to perform 26 acts of kindness to honor those who died in the Newtown shootings. It is always good to encourage kindness.  It is a lovely way to honor the victims. But I worry that we as Christians have to be reminded to show kindness, to help strangers in need, to be good citizens.  My wish for the New Year is that Christians everywhere will remember, on their own without a campaign or slogan being flashed in front of them, to love one another. We are taught that lesson over and over in the Bible and yet many seem to forget it in the rush of their busy lives. We are taught to take care of each other. If you pause long enough to ask yourself what would Jesus do in this situation, you will always know the answer, but will you always act?

Happy New Year and Have a great week :o) Linda