Detours, part 1

This Sunday, our pastor preached about Detours. Using the story of the Good Samaritain, he shared how we need to:
Accept that interruptions are opportunities
Build time into our days
Commit to live a compassionate life.

This week, we were challenged to look for opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus in practical ways.

Yesterday, I was heading to a home visit for work. I was running late. 2 blocks before the house, I saw a little boy---about 2 years old---on at tricycle at the edge of the sidewalk. I debated whether I should stop. When I got a little further up the road, I saw him roll out onto the street. I pulled over and called 911 (with my eyes glued to the rear view mirror). A few minutes later another woman (ML)stopped. (Turns out she works for a child service agency too!) She got him out of the street and asked which house was his. Nobody answered her knock.

At least point, I approached them. I let her know that I had called the police. ML knocked on the door again. She called through the screen door. Then she even opened the door and called out. The boy couldn't answer our questions in Spanish or English.

When the police officer arrived, he went into the house and announced himself. Turns out, there was nobody in the house--except another boy about 9 or 10 months old who was asleep on the couch. The officer called for backup as well as someone to bring carseats to take the children into custody.

I stayed on the scene to complete my statement. About 30 minutes after I first arrived, I woman walked up from a few houses down. She said she was the mom, and she had "just stepped out" to use the phone---and "they were asleep". The officer replied, "Just stepped out?" We've been on scene for 35 minutes? At that point I excused myself. The officer had my card in case he needed to get ahold of me.

I could have easily drove on. I could have left it in the hands of the other woman who stopped. But instead, I took a detour--and maybe even saved a life.