Encountering Humanity on 5th and 2nd

Yesterday, I left my house, mask-less, at the exact, right time.

As I turned the corner, I saw a lady, mask-less, on the side of the road, her car nearly vertical in the ditch. The wheels on the road side, were hardly touching the ground. Had the ditch been two inches deeper, she would have flipped. I pulled off to check on her. She was frantic and shaking.

We had some beautiful and profound moments of conversation that brought peace and then we called for a tow truck. It would arrive in forty-five minutes.

Right then, a big, mask-less, burly-man in a redneck, camo-painted pick-up truck, stopped.

“You need help?”

She was about to tell him we were fine, and I said, “Can you get her car out of the ditch?”

“Yes, ma’am.” He said.

He parked and then there were three of us…

Just when I was wishing we had another man to help him, this old, tough-looking white man, proudly wearing a USA mask, walks out of his house. He yells, “You need help?”

As he started walking toward us both men burst out laughing and gave each other a hardy-hug. Apparently, the old man coached the red-neck-truck-driving man in high school, and this little mishap enabled a fine reunion.

After their greeting, the older white man looks at the woman and says, “Don’t you worry. This is easy. You won’t even have a scratch, darlin’.”

And then there were four of us…

Wait, it gets weirder.

The two of them are working together to get her car out, while I’m out on the road directing traffic. One of them asks her to get in the nearly vertical car to steer the wheels. She is so shaken up and I can see her trying to muster the courage to get back in. I was just thinking about doing it for her, although I was nervous too, when I look up to see this older black man, wearing a mask, walking down the street. He literally appeared out of nowhere, “Y’all need help?”

Then he and the old white man start laughing and hugging.

Apparently, he knew the old white man, as he was a middle school coach!

Then there were five of us…

What the heck?

He jumps in the car to steer it so she doesn’t have to. I’m almost crying at this point, at the beauty and kindness brought together in this eclectic, random bunch. No one was upset by racial division or masks!

Anyway, they get the car out with ease, no scratch on it, and the five of us are instantly bonded. The woman thanks the men and they all leave. I was getting ready to leave too, when she asked me if she could hug me again, for a fourth time, “Are you an angel?”

I laughed and then realized she was serious. I laughed harder and pointed to my house. “No, no. I live there.”

“How did you get all those men to stop and help me, then? That’s crazy?” She was emotional.

“God did that for you. He loves you, isn’t it obvious? And He loves undoing our stereotypes through powerful interactions like this, too.”

We both laughed, because truly, we were both thinking it.

We chatted a few minutes more when she declared she may just show up at my door someday to be sure about the angel thing. I told her I live for good stories that just continue and would keep my coffee pot, and wings, ready.

Masks, no masks, a black woman, a middle-aged white woman, a red neck, an old white man, and a black man met up yesterday on the corner of 5th and 2nd to work together for the good of humanity!

What an awesome day!

Shout out to all you coaches and good men out there, your chivalry makes you shine! Thank you!

Aimee Perry, a singer/songwriter, and entrepreneur who presently resides in Charlotte NC. She has written music, poetry, blogs, stories, and children’s songs. One common thread running through her work is her ability to articulate matters of the heart in a way that leaves the reader with more understanding of their own humanity, and the joy of living loved. Made To Create YouTube Channel

Be Loved.

I believe that Love is the point. It’s the very foundation of this world; it’s not a vague concept, it’s an encounter. We live to know Love… And to become love.

We were created to be loved and to love. These two truths are inseparable. That said, the knowing Love always comes first. Love is an encounter before it’s a decision. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). Therefore our ability to love is directly connected to our awareness of His love. Our love is a response to a revelation of His. From our encounter we can decide to love but in all honesty, the decision to love is not the goal of a Christian. The goal is to know His love and to become surer each day. The incredible thing about this is that as we become sure in His love we are transformed and we are empowered to love – and it looks a lot like how Jesus loved.

“The decision to love is not the goal of a Christian. The goal is to know His love and to become surer each day.”

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I believe we are saved by Love so that we can truly know Love and in turn become love. It’s about transformation, it’s the difference between behavior and identity. You see, if we become love, we don’t have to decide to love, it’s just who we are. He loves and we are transformed – that’s the Christian identity. Often in life, I have placed my focus on the decision to love. I have tried harder, perspired more, become more focused on doing Christian things than becoming sure in His love.  At these times I have almost elevated my decisions above the encounter with His love, my doing above my surrender.  What I have learned is that when I do this, I relegate, demote, and limit His love. A love birthed from a decision has less power to transform than a love birthed from an encounter. From my own experience, if I stop encountering His love, my decision to love becomes sterile, forced, and powerless. In fact, loving God or others becomes an overwhelming impossibility. I have learned that I can’t fully love without first encountering His.

“From my own experience, if I stop encountering His love, my decision to love becomes sterile, forced, and powerless.”

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My daily prayer is that I would become more aware of my heavenly Father’s Love; that He would give me a heart that knows it, eyes to see it, ears to hear it, a soul that feels it, and a mind renewed by it. I want to experience His love in every season. In fact, that’s my life’s one true ambition, to become sure in His love… And I believe it’s yours as well.