Stranded
I am stranded. I am away from my office, far from home, and without transportation. It’s not a tragic situation, nor is it unexpected. I dropped off my vehicle at a mom and pop repair shop to look for small leaks in my air conditioning system. They do not take appointments so I was told to bring it in after 7 AM when they open and before 8 AM when the mechanics arrive.
I am used to waiting for car work since it usually involves an oil change and less than an hour in limbo. I decided not to trouble my wife or friends to pick me up (my mistake!) knowing that I could study in the waiting room of the repair shop until the work is completed. Which could be hours. And they have no waiting room!
Fortunately, a nearby restaurant was within walking distance, providing food, air conditioning (the temperature is rising to 95 degrees today), and that now-necessary-in-order-to-live-and-breathe amenity called WiFi. So here I sit, alone yet surrounded by people, stranded yet comfortable. Then I had a thought (they do occur occasionally). What if I didn’t have a vehicle at all, a modern place in which to pass the time, or even a home.
Such is undoubtedly the life of the exit people. You know, the guys that hold up cardboard signs as you get off of the expressway (or is it just an Ann Arbor thing?). “Will work for food� is usually their message. I have long been troubled by their presence, not bothered by them, but unsure how to help. I look down at my W.W.J.D. bracelet (no, I don’t have one, but work with me here) and wonder what I can do to help “the least of these.� It has been said that Ann Arbor is one of the best places for a homeless person with free meals, a shelter, jobs, and many social services available. Yet there they stand, day after day with their signs (one man last week didn’t even have a sign; he stood there with his hands positioned as if he was holding a sign, but there was nothing in his hands; did he know that?).
Jesus was homeless. He knew what it was to be stranded. What about you?
