Pick Up Some Apples

I heard a story recently that made me realize how often we become so caught up in our own lives that we forget one of the main reasons we’re here on this Earth. The story goes like this:

Three men had been attending a Christian retreat in Chicago. It had released a little later than planned, so they had to scramble to O’Hare airport to catch their flight. Once they got there, the check-in counter was busy, which delayed them even further. Once through check-in, they proceeded to TSA security only to find the lines extremely long. They were beginning to panic that they may miss their flight.

Eventually they made their way through security, but they heard over the loudspeaker that their plane was in final boarding. The three of them took off running towards their gate. They weaved their way around people, their carry-on luggage in tow. They ran as fast as they could, but in so doing, they dodged to avoid running into someone and ran into a cart someone had set up to sell apples. The cart dumped over, the baskets of apples fell to the ground and the apples went spilling out onto the floor.

Two of the men, still focused on catching their plane, continued to run. The third man stopped to help the vendor pick up their apples. It would mean missing his plane, but he felt it was the right thing to do. When the man had gotten on his knees scooping up apples, he realized the vendor was a young girl and she was blind. He explained he was sorry as he continued to gather the apples, but the young girl said nothing.

Some of the apples were bruised and some had gone missing as hundreds of people scattered them as they were walking through the concourse. The man felt bad for the young girl, so when they had picked up all the apples they could, he reached into his wallet and pulled out $60.00. He handed the money to the young girl and said, “I’m so sorry this happened. Here’s $60.00. That should be more than enough to pay for the apples that were bruised or lost.” The girl remained silent.

As he was walking away, he heard the young girl call out. “Are you Jesus?” she asked. The young man responded, “No, but I want to try to be like him.”

I thought about this story and how it relates to those of us with Myasthenia Gravis. All of us with MG are in different stages. Most of us can still function in life. The question becomes, are we focused on catching our plane or will we stop to help others in need?

Just because we have MG doesn’t mean we should stop helping others. If anything, it means we should become even more focused on doing just that. There are people in this world who need a helping hand, who could use a friend. Will we race to our gate or will we stop to help them pick up their apples?

Do you realize how blessed you are that MG hasn’t totally decimated you? Some of you may be in wheelchairs, but most of us can still get around without being too dependent upon others. Do you realize how strong your mind is? There are people who struggle with mental disorders that need someone to befriend them. Do you realize while it’s no walk in the park having MG, you still have the capacity to do good and help those that are struggling?

Like the man in the airport who stopped to help the young girl pick up her apples, helping became more important to him than catching his plane. No one would have thought less of him if he would have continued to his gate like his colleagues and boarded his plane, but he chose to help. He realized there were more important things to do than catching a plane. Someone needed his help.

You can be that person. You can reach out to someone who is struggling, whether it be from Myasthenia Gravis or any other condition that’s going on in their life. You can be the person that makes a difference in their life.

Don’t know where to start? Try becoming an MG friend on the MGFA website. You can do so at this address: https://myasthenia.org/living-with-mg/find-support/mg-friends-program/

Becoming an MG Friend to someone with MG may be a great way to offer help to someone in need. It doesn’t take money; it doesn’t require a great deal of effort; it only takes the desire to care.

That young girl paid that man the ultimate in compliments by saying, “Are you Jesus?” We’ll never be able to match up to Jesus, but how wonderful it would be to have someone recognize we’re trying.