The Hitchhiker

I love driving.

But only if I'm the one driving.

I hate to ask people to give me a ride. And I hate when other people drive my car. Maybe because I'm a control freak. Or maybe it's because I don't like being dependent on anybody else.

It was the day after final exams, and I went out for a drive. Feeling so carefree. No homework, no projects, no tests to study for. I was headed toward my favorite Chinese buffet in Benton Harbor.

Then I see him. He's disheveled, with a plaid jacket and workboots. He's wearing a backpack. He's got his thumb held out. A hitchhiker.

I've never picked up a hitchiker before. Usually, I'm by myself and in a rush. Sometimes, I'm with friends + going somewhere to hang out. But this time, I'm with my friend Eric. We're just driving to town to eat lunch + celebrate the end of the semester.

I pass him up @ 1st. But I can still stop if I want to. A million thoughts race through my mind as I decide whether to hit the brakes or accelerate past. What if he's dangerous? What if he tries to knife me as I'm driving? No, then he'd be killing himself! But what if that's what He wants?

But it's the last thought that hits me like a ton of bricks: "Chris, if you can't help somebody the day after finals is over, then when will you EVER help anybody?"

I hit the brakes.

Where you going? "Mercy Hospital in Benton Harbor" he says. (Wow, that's gotta be @ least 15 miles away!) Great, we're headed that way. Hop on in.

His name is Curt. About 5'4, kindofa beer belly. Graying, wispy hair tied in the back in a ponytail. Untrimmed mustache, some stubble. Square glasses.

I'm a roofer, he says. But there aren't any roofing jobs in the wintertime, so he basically is unemployed for 1/2 the year. He's staying with his mom in Berrien, because her arthritis is getting bad.

He talks fast. Gets tangled up in his own words sometimes, but keeps sputtering along. "Going to the hospital in Benton Harbor to get my teeth looked @," he says. Need to get some dentures, because I just had a few teeth taken out. Can't chew very well.

Can you chew some Sweet + Sour Chicken? We're going to a Chinese buffet + it's on the way to the hospital. He says sure.

We grab our plates + pile them high with stir-fry, noodles, rice, meat. We sit down + pray for the food.

I ask him if he goes to church. Just started going out recently, he says. A local Pentecostal one his mom goes to. They're really teaching me to be filled with the Spirit, he says. It's really been a blessing in my life because I want more faith. God's blessed a lot of them in that church (financially, I think he's trying to say) and I wonder why God's not blessing me too. Must be my lack of faith, he says, shaking his head in resignation.

But Curt, I say. A lot of people who are rich + drive fancy cars, don't have much faith. Because they don't feel like they need God. Maybe God is allowing you to go thru your hard times, to teach you to trust Him. After all, faith is having hope in what is not seen, right?

That's true, says Curt. It's quiet for awhile as me munch on our food and think about theological things. Deep spiritual topics and MSG-loaded Chinese food don't really mix too well.

We get in the car + head toward the hospital.

"By the way," he says abruptly. "Do either of you guys want to buy a couple of CD players?"

He pulls them out of his backpack. They look like those $7 things you see at Rite Aid.

"I paid $15 each, I think. But they won't let me return it at Walmart because I don't have an ID and I lost the receipt. Please, I know you guys treated me to lunch but I just need to get rid of these things somehow."

The "Price-is-Right" side of me says, this guy's trying to rip me off. Besides, it's 2 weeks 'til Christmas. I'm strapped for cash myself! That morning, I'd checked my accounts online and was worrying about paying off my credit card balance this month.

But I look @ Curt. He's struggling to make it thru the winter. Living with his mom. Hitchhiking to a hospital to get dentures.

He's willing to take whatever I can give him, but I hand him 2 twenties. He's ecstatic. "Thank you so much, man, I really appreciate it!" Then he jumps out of my car. Crosses the street. Walks into the hospital. And he's gone.

I get back onto the highway. It starts to rain. I like rain, because I'm usually the one driving in it. I like being in control of the situation.

But meeting Curt, has gotten me to thinking. Maybe once in a while, I can stop being so independent. Self-sufficient. Maybe it'd be good to start depending on other people. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to be a hitchhiker once in a while, and not always have to be in the driver's seat.

"Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)