The Difference Between Falling and not Falling is Someone to Help You

   As I walked out of the gym tonight, I thought how making a mistake can be a catastrophe or no big deal at all, depending on whether someone is there to help you. Sometimes its a person who helps; sometimes its the Lord.
   The difference between falling and not falling is having someone to catch you, I thought, and then dismissed the though as not being very well worded.
    I got into my car and drove away. Short blocks later, as I pulled up to the corner, my car died. I looked at the gas gauge. Empty. I coasted around the corner and angled toward the curb. The car hit the curb, running up on it, and stopped. I slipped it into park, only to realize I better push it off the road better, and farther away from the corner. But, it was stuck in park. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get it the gear shift to budge.
   The words echoed in my mind: The difference between falling and not falling is having someone to catch you. Those might not be profound words, but I was living them out. And, it didn't appear I had anyone to catch me. I quickly realized I had run off without my cell phone, so I couldn't call for help. And, I had left without my wallet, so I couldn't just buy a gallon of gas and be on my way. No, I was facing a long walk home and a long walk back and the likelihood my car would be ticketed by the time I got back in the middle of the night.
   As I considered on my dilemma, a small white car drove up and parked in the lot next to me. Two young men got out and asked if they could help. I thanked them much, and they jimmied with my gear shift and got it to unlock by keeping a foot on the brake while trying. Then, they asked if there was anything else they could do and I asked them for a buck for gas, and they obliged.
   As I walked across the street, I considered how I was still in a bind, not having a gas can. I said a short prayer. As I entered the 7-Eleven, I told the attendant my plight. "Just a minute," he said, and he went into the back room and got me plastic gas container.
   No sooner did I pull back onto the road than the radio announcer suggested that if I knew someone who had committed a random act of kindness, I should report it. I wished I had taken the two young men's names.
  I was soon home, arriving at about the normal get-home time, as opposed the middle of the night it would have been had I had to walk all the way home to get my wallet as I had envisioned.
   The difference between falling and not falling is having someone to catch you. I thanked the Lord for his help.