Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4 ESV
Well there I was, in active labor with my first child and stranded with my husband in our car alongside the road. Maybe I should back up and give you a little more of the story.
I was 39 weeks pregnant and we knew I could have this baby any day. This particular Saturday morning I hauled myself with my very large stomach out of bed to get started with my day. I didn’t get very far when my water broke! I called out to awaken my husband and announced that this was the day—we were having a baby! He, of course, was a bit frantic as I imagine most first-time fathers would be, to be awakened first thing in the morning with the knowledge that the baby was coming! As he started wildly pulling clothes out of his dresser, he was listing off at a frenetic pace all the things that had to happen before we could leave for the hospital but that he would take care of all of it—that I just needed to worry about myself. I looked at him whipping the clothes out of his dresser and asked him if he wanted to shower. He stopped dead in his tracks then said he thought that would be a good idea, and proceeded to numbly stumble out of the room towards the shower.
As he left to do that, I called the number the nurse had written down for me to call if I should find myself in labor after hours. I introduced myself and told the lady who answered the situation—there was a long pause and then she replied that she was with dermatology. Since I would rather not have my first child in a dermatologist’s office, I took her up on her offer to connect me to the correct office!
Finally, I got through to the doctor on-call and he told me to get ready and come in as soon as possible. We finished getting ourselves together and left for the hospital. While traveling, I was on the phone with my parents informing them that I was bailing on having dinner with them that night, that I had decided to have my baby instead, when the car started making an ominous thumping sound. My husband coasted over to the side of the road and put the four-way lights on. Our car had broken down on the side of the road on the way to the hospital while I was undoubtedly in active labor.
It is at times like this when you start to understand how babies are born on the side of the road in a car! My husband was a little stressed, to say the least.
Frantically, my husband yanked out his cell phone, we panicked briefly as to whether there was service on this stretch of road, but luckily there was enough service to make a phone call. We were about 10 minutes from home so my husband punched in our neighbor’s number and explained the situation before politely asking (or should I say frantically begging) him to come get us. He graciously agreed to save the day and within minutes he arrived to chauffeur us to the hospital where our baby was to be delivered. If our neighbor hadn’t been able to help us, we might have had a ride in a police car or in an ambulance!
On that morning, more than most, we were specifically reminded of how much we need others in our lives. This is a lesson we have learned, and I’m sure will continue to learn, as we try to raise this little baby into a full-fledged adult. God didn’t make us solitary creatures. He made us to need others. He made us to be in community—that’s the whole concept around church! If you don’t have any sort of community around you, I urge you to take the first step. Join a small group, ask someone to meet for coffee, or even just smile at the person sitting next to you this Sunday. Take a step even if it is a small step to support someone else and be prepared to be amazed by the awesome people with whom God has already surrounded you!
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