At the end of two months of imposing on my friend Jane for rides to church due to a broken ankle, I happily informed her that she was off the hook. I was surprised by her response.
“Oh, but we’ve had so much fun,” she said.
We quickly agreed to continue carpooling, alternating driving. Eventually I became the chauffeur as we continued having “so much fun” on Saturday evenings until the pandemic closed churches. Sadly, Jane died before they reopened.
Ironically one of my most treasured friendships was rooted in doing something I hate: asking for help.
I thought about this when I meditated on Jesus’ admonition to do to others what we would have them do to us. I think the contrary also applies. We need to let others do for us what we would happily do for them. I see Jesus telling us to mutually support each other. And that’s harder than it seems.
