Locked out and locked in with Larry

As Job said, "the thing that I have feared has come upon me."

I sat and stared at my keys. They were glistening in the sun. The glass from the window added to their silver charm. It was a beautifully serene scene only marred by the fact my keys were in the ignition on the other side of the glass and I was locked out.

All I could here was that "Here's your sign" song playing in my head.

I tried everything I had seen before (hanger, sticks, prayer) except cursing. I've never tried that but I've seen others do it and it's not very effective. I finally went inside and started ask if any body had a slim jim (I really didn't want to be doing the lock smith thing.) No luck. So I went back outside.

Suddenly, Larry, one of the guys in the plant, ran outside. He walked right up to the van and began working on unlocking it. Within 1 minute he had the locks popped with no damage to the car. I was sooooooooooooo grateful. "Thanks!" I told him.

"No, thank you!" He replied. I was a tad confused.

"For what?"

"All those times you've helped me when I needed it." I suddenly had flashbacks of helping him with computers, with being on the phone with his daughter at UT Austin acting as tech support for her freshman year. I smiled inside because I really didn't remember all these things until now. I had no tally so I had never tried to remind him of all I had done. Christians should be helpful... people should be helpful. That's how my parents raised me and what I believe is one of the lessons in the Bible. Now, here he was running to my rescue. He had been keeping a tally, and it was his chance to help me. By simply being kind and helpful, I was somehow locked into his thinking to the point that he ran out to help me too. I began to examine my life and pray that I had been an example worth remembering.

We can preach all we want. We can cry, scream and turn blue. But sometimes it just comes down to basic needs and kindness. Before I preach another sermon, I'm going to try to be a sermon that my friends can read. Not a profound revelation, but definitely productive one.