helpers

I guess there's never a good time to hit a deer.

But this morning seemed to be an especially bad time.

Here we are living in a world that is running at half speed (or less). We all have so much on our minds. Most of us are barely surviving. And the last thing we need is some additional stress to add to the mix. But on her way into work this morning, Julie got her first deer.

In one sense, it was about time. We have lived in northern Michigan for over thirteen years now. Some people average a deer every couple of years or so. So I guess we can't really complain about one deer in thirteen years.

(To be fair, we have actually had several deer hit us - meaning that they literally ran into the side of our car. But those don't really count. Today, Julie got her deer front and center!)

And, thankfully, it wasn't all that dramatic. Thankfully, Julie was fine. (And if you're not from Michigan, you are probably wondering . . . so no, the deer did not make it. I'm sorry about that.)

But the car . . . 

Well, the car didn't fare very well. And, as I said, it wasn't a very good day for that to happen.

But once it did happen, the helpers appeared. In an instant. And all day long. People who knew what to do. People who knew how to take care of things. People who knew what needed to be done next. People who just did their jobs and didn't think they were doing anything special. People who were kind. People who cared. People who helped.

And right now, not one of those people is even aware that they did anything special or significant or helpful. But Julie and I are quite aware. Because of our need, we are quite aware. And, yes, we are deeply thankful as well.

This thing called "helping" is so easily done. Often, it doesn't require great effort or great expense or great energy. Often, it doesn't require special creativity or cleverness. Instead, it usually requires only that we do what we can do to make things better. We call that "helping."

And we only have to be in need to discover how precious help can be.

It wasn't a very good day for Julie to hit a deer. But it was a great day to be reminded of how much we need the help of others.

Tonight, Julie and I are very thankful for the helpers who cared for us today.

​And tomorrow, we will be looking for small ways that we can be of help to others.