This morning I went for a mountain bike ride and felt totally inspired to come back and get to work on some music stuff, which I only had a few hours free to work. As I was driving down my driveway, I saw a van I didn't recognize on the side of the rode. I drove past and didn't think much of it. As I got out of my car I heard "excuse me, sir" I looked back and saw a woman who looked to be in her late 30's approaching me. She told me that her battery died and was wondering if I could give her a jump start. I was a little thrown off because helping someone jumpstart their car was not part of my plans this morning. I told her that I needed to see if I had jumper cables and that I would be happy to help. I looked for jumper cables and did not see any in my car stuff. I walked back to her van and told her that I could not find any jumper cables but I would be happy to call AAA roadside service for her. She responded "would you really do that?" and I responded back "absolutely!" I called AAA and I gave the woman my phone number and told her to text me when they were there so I could verify I was with her. It broke my heart a bit that she was so surprised that I was willing to help her out. I called AAA and got her set up with someone to jumpstart her van. In the meantime I told her I was going to go back and look for jumper cables so she could get back on the road quicker. When I got to my truck, I remembered that there were jumper cables in one of the tool kits in the back. I opened up the tool kit and found brand new, never used jumper cables! I ran back to her van and showed her the cables and we gave each other big smiles and a big thumbs up.
As I was setting up the jumper cables she told me her name was Rebecca and began telling me how she pulled over the night before because her and her boyfriend were fighting through text and she was afraid to leave where she was parked and her battery died, I was under the impression that she slept in her van overnight with her 2 dogs in tow. It again made me sad that she had so much stress and turmoil that she was holding onto. After I connected the cables, her van started up and we both said "praise God!" As we were saying our thank you's and goodbyes I asked if I could pray with her, she responded "yes." We prayed together and I gave her some money to make her day a little brighter, because I know first hand that being stranded with a dead car battery is less than fun! I drove back to my house and began to get back in the mindset of doing music work when I got a call. I answered and it was Rebecca and she said that her van battery died again! I drove back to her this time feeling excited and energized to help her. I jumpstarted the battery and made sure it didn't die this time. When we realized it had enough charge, and after about an hour together, we said our goodbyes one last time and went our separate ways and I walked away from that experience feeling more energized and inspired than before Rebecca came into my life needing help.
The reason I am telling this story is because most of my life I have been extremely selfish and cared more about me getting what I need first and becoming angry when someone else's needs overshadowed my own. I write this as a reminder to myself and others that we are called by God to serve and love others over ourselves. I walked away from that experience with Rebecca probably helping me more than I helped her. I wouldn't have been able to experience that blessing unless I chose selflessness over selfishness. I am thankful to have met Rebecca and been able to step in and help her out and I can't wait until I have the opportunity to choose selflessness again!