Thumbing It

Thumbing it:  Definition (v.) hitchhiking; asking for a ride by holding out your thumb on the side of the road

The other day, I gave a hitchhiker a ride! I see them all of the time. My first thought is, “Awe, they need a ride.” Then I think…he could be a murderer or a thief. What if he’s high on drugs?” We’ve all thought like this before. But today something was different. The man was 60-65 years old. He had on the typical clothes for his age. He had the white socks pulled up mid-calf. The kacky shorts with a Polo shirt.

I’m flying by on a back road outside of town. And there he is. I come up to him and he sticks his thumb out with a smile and as I stare, he nods and smiles. Two seconds later I turned around. Now at this time is when my logical thinking starts kicking in. “He’s got something rolled up he’s holding under his arm. Could be a knife or a gun or an axe! Yikes what are you doing Amy?” So I put my purse down deep on the backseat floor and pull up and ask him where he’s headed. He tells me the neighboring town. I tell him I can take him and I’m going that way. He’s quiet as he gets in. I’m quiet and say a quick prayer, “Lord, keep me safe.”

Well if you know me, I’ve never met a stranger and will get anyone to talk if I try hard enough. So we talk. He was planning to walk to town for an appointment from his home. It’s a hot day. The time it would take would be 2 1/2 hours for him to walk. He doesn’t give me a sob story. He doesn’t give me many details but that he needs dropped off anywhere by the courthouse.

As we’re going along I see that what he has rolled up in his arm was a rain coat that’s got the reflective patches on it. He was prepared. {I on the other hand was not. And I will tell you why in a few.} I tell him about how I was kind of nervous picking someone up and was hoping not to end up on the front page of the newspaper. This, he gives a soft chuckle to; but what he says next still rings in my ears…

He says, “On the back roads I’ll usually put a thumb out there, but if I’m in town and I’m by the highways and busy streets, I won’t. I don’t know who is going to pick me up. Back in the day you could thumb it all over and folks were safe.”

I never thought about it from that point of view. Here I’m scared of this man with his all-weather gear, footing it for 2 1/2 miles and all the while he’s wondering about the lady who is driving too fast and is she gonna run him into a phone pole or something. (I’m a leadfoot-I probably blew past him so fast that the wind blew his thumb out in the air.)

I mentioned church one time. About a lady who goes to my church who lives in his same town. That’s it. I didn’t say, “Hey anyone ever tell you about Jesus?” Nothing! Not even “God bless you” when he got out of the car. I wasn’t prepared. And when the time came, I froze. My only hope is that he saw a church going woman do a friendly act of kindness.

Seems like some poeple are just made for this kind if witnessing, yet it’s all of our responsibility to seek and save that which is lost.

What would you have said? Would you have offered to pray with him? Or ask him if he needed prayer? Would you have offered him money? Or invited him to church? Do you get nervous and freeze in these kind of situations? Lastly, do you think that being a good samaritan and showing kindness are enough to witness Jesus to someone?

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