I’ll gladly do the same for you
It came unexpectedly!
My mouth was dry. I was parched. Playing in the hot Texas sun had taken everything out of my five-year-old body and there was no question; it was time for a drink.
Just a small stretch to reach the top of what would be the sweet nectar of the water fountain. Well…maybe more than a small stretch. Why do grown-ups make these things so high up? Weren’t they ever small like me?
What came next was not at all what I expected. A line had formed behind me. Every kid from my class, and probably at least a dozen others, had been impatiently waiting for their turn when I felt a nudge. Was it someone getting a bit too restless behind me? Had the next person in line decided that I was taking too long? “Hey, I’m just a little kid, and I can’t reach,” I was thinking to myself.
Suddenly, I realized that the nudge wasn’t one of impatience but of assistance. Although not really any bigger than me, the boy behind me reached around my waist and hoisted me up. It was only a few inches, but it was just enough for me to reach the ever-elusive prize of chilled relief from the water fountain.
Photo by Daniel Hooper on Unsplash
Nothing was expected in return!
Not wanting to make my hero strain himself, especially since he did this without even being asked and he wasn’t such a big guy himself, I took a very quick drink but still savored every drop. I could hear his sigh of relief as he eased me to the ground. As I turned to thank him, he simply smiled and walked up to the fountain himself, sprung to the tips of his toes, and took his own drink. When he finished, he wiped his mouth on his sleeve, smiled, and walked away.
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2 KJV
The above is an actual account of a story recounted to me by my wife. She remembers this event which happened some fifty years ago at a small private kindergarten that she attended. She doesn’t know who the boy was and doesn’t remember ever seeing him again. However, she said that it was her mission from that day forward to find her “Waterfountain Boy.” He would be someone who would know when and how to be there for her, to help her, to give her what she needed without needing to ask, and to do it selflessly and humbly. I pray that I have been such a man for her. If you enjoyed this and would like to read more from Living Faith by James M. Dakis, please sign up to get the latest content when it is posted.