Break Out – Day 10

I want to share the story of a taxi driver, Ken Nerburn, that really touched my heart. My hope is that it will inspire you to show love wherever you go.

Ken: “It was 02:30 when I parked in front of the dark, quiet building. Only a single light through a ground-floor window was visible. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute and then drive away. But I had seen too many people, trapped in a life of poverty, who depended on the cab as their only means of transportation. So, I walked to the door and knocked. ‘Just a minute,’ answered a frail and elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

A small woman, somewhere in her eighties, stood before me. ‘Would you carry my bag out to the car?’ she asked. ‘I’d like a few moments alone. Then, if you could come back and help me? I’m not very strong.’ I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly towards the taxi. She kept thanking me for my kindness.

When we got into the cab, she gave me an address and then asked: ‘Could you drive through downtown?’ I told her that it was not the shortest way. ‘Oh, I don’t mind,’ she said. ‘I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.’ I looked in the rear-view mirror. ‘I don’t have any family left,’ she continued. ‘The doctor said I should go there. He says I don’t have very long.’

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. ‘What route would you like me to go?’ I asked. For the next two hours we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived when they had first been married. She made me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom, where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she would have me slow down in front of a particular building or corner where she would stare into the darkness and say nothing. As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said: ‘I’m tired. Let’s go now.’

We drove in silence to the address she had given me. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase up to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair. ‘How much do I owe you?’ she asked, reaching into her purse. ‘Nothing,’ I said. ‘You have to make a living,’ she answered. ‘There are other passengers,’ I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent over and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly. ‘You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,’ she said. ‘Thank you.’ I squeezed her hand once, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, I could hear the door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.

I did not pick up any more passengers during that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. What if that woman had gotten a driver who had been angry or abusive or impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run or had honked once, then driven away? What if I had been in a foul mood and had refused to engage the woman in conversation? When that woman hugged me and said that I had brought her a moment of joy, it was possible to believe that I had been placed on earth for the sole purpose of providing her with that last ride. I do not think that I have done anything in my life that was any more important.”

Ken is right. God gives us opportunities to demonstrate his love to those in need. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said: “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Let’s be disciples of Jesus by our love that we demonstrate to those in need. Your act of kindness may be a moment of happiness that someone desperately needs. God bless.