“Help! Help Me!”

One afternoon a few months ago, I stopped at our local grocery store to pick up a few items. As I left my car to head for the front door, I heard a woman’s voice shouting, “Help! Help me!” I looked around frantically and could not see the person attached to the voice. She shouted again, “Help! I’m by the car! Help!” By this time another shopper had located the woman in distress, and we both ran to her aid.

As we helped her stand, she explained, “I have cancer. I am so weak that I fell trying to get into the car.”

I wonder if when she fell to the ground, she lay for a few minutes and started an internal dialogue. I would have. Should I just lie here until my daughter comes back? Really, I am okay. I’m just weak. And is it safe to ask for help from random strangers?

As I think back to this event, I so admire this woman. She was down and out—literally—and had the courage to own it and say that four-letter word we women so struggle to say: “Help!” I want to be this kind of woman.

What about you?