That’s the first thing I thought when I saw him fall. Kitti and I were heading back from Decatur to our new apartment in Midtown. We were at the intersection of Moreland and Memorial Dr., waiting for the light to turn green. We noticed a guy on a bicycle coming down the hill to our left, moving pretty fast toward the intersection. We also noticed his front wheel was beginning to wobble. It was one of those moments when everything seemed to move real slowly as we watched the front wheel turn, and he flipped over the handlebars and landed on the pavement in the middle of the intersection.
Amazingly, no cars were coming; and equally as amazing was the fact that he stood up and carried the bicycle to the side of the road, where he sat down in a daze.
Kitti and I did a 360 through a gas station and drove across the street to see if we could help. Initially, he refused our help. He was a bit confused, in pain, and embarassed. Finally we prevailed upon him, and he allowed us to drive him back to East Atlanta Village, where he lived.
His name is Brian, and he’s a student at Emory, where he studied Classics and Religion. It was one of those moments that slipped by without a clear verbal witness on our part. Partly, I wasn’t prepared to probe beyond what he volunteered to tell us, and partly I just wanted to get home.
I’ve learned that a huge hindrance to the kingdom of God spreading into the lives of others is my willingess – or not – to engage others. Ouch! Pray for Brian that he’ll recognize the grace of Christ in our stopping to help. Pray for me that I’ll engage others by the grace of Christ.
