Will You Help Me? (10/13/2026)

I was on my way home from a meeting and decided to stop briefly at the local Mobil station for a couple of items rather than go out of my way to the market. I pulled in close to the station, got out of my car and started toward the front door, when I heard, “Will you help me?”

I turned to see an older gentleman, trying to get out of his car. I walked to him and asked, “How?”  He stood, fumbled in his pocket for his wallet, then in his wallet for his credit card. “Will you take this inside and prepay for my gas? Charge $40?” I repeated what he asked, he nodded. I said sure, took his card and did what he asked. I came back with his receipt a couple minutes later. He was at the pump removing the nozzle.

He thanked me profusely in his somewhat broken English and tried to explain to me that the work he has done all his life has left him somewhat crippled making it hard for him to get around. I assured him it was no problem. Then I went back into the store to get my things.

When I came back out, he was finishing up at the pump. He thanked me again. Again, I assured him I was happy that I could help him. I didn’t tell him that when he first asked, “Will you help me?” I was worried about what he wanted help with and whether or not I could help. Sometimes loving others demands more of us than we think we have to give.

Then I remembered a prayer a friend had brought to our meeting last week called “The Litany of Trust.”  And I remembered the one line, “From the fear of being asked to give more than I have, deliver me, Jesus.” I will admit that one petition really resonated with me. I have been there many, many times, feeling the need of another far surpassing my abilities and resources. As I thought about it, I thought of my father who worked so hard and shared with me in his later years that he’d always felt insufficient for the needs he met. When I asked him what he did about it, he answered, “I did all I could. That’s all we can do, that and pray that the LORD provides the ‘more’ that is needed.”

Odd how that conversation with my dad had been ruminating in my heart and brain all these years, and it took a stranger at a random gas station on an ordinary day to help me fully grasp what he’d tried to tell me. Life’s like that, don’t you know? Sometimes we have to let time and miles pass before we can see it clearly.

As we continue our journeys of faith, buoyed by hope and fueled by love, let us try to remain open to the LORD’s invitations to be companions to others along the way. And let us recognize that when another asks “Will you help me?”, we can do all we can and rely upon the LORD for the ‘more’ that is needed. Let us work to trust Jesus who is “the Way.”

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.