Yesterday I crossed paths with two knights. Yep. You read that right. Two KNIGHTS.
I mentioned in an earlier blog that my dad passed away a little over a year ago. He was the pastor of our small church, and, as a result of all that came our way in the wake of his passing, we are still sorting through the books, files, and tools which he kept at the church. Among those things were two large, four-drawer filing cabinets. While I’ve nearly mastered the art of wrestling my own heavy two-drawer cabinets from one corner of the house to another, I’m no match for any four-drawer cabinet. Not only that but between my mom and I, we have a Pontiac G6, a Plymouth Breeze, and a Suzuki Swift. While each of these has its endearing features, none of them were designed to haul—well, anything.
We knew the two of us could not move the cabinets from the office at the church to my mom’s home office. We would need help. This is where the first knight comes into the story. Our very dear friend and church deacon offered to help us move the cabinets because he has a pickup. He is a very kind man with a big heart, and is always looking for ways to help others. He is also 83.
I was just about to leave work when my mom called to tell me that he had decided yesterday was the day to move the cabinets, even though we didn’t have any other help available. The thought of him hoisting those monstrosities up into that truck alone was not a good one. So, I finished up what I was doing as quickly as possible and met him at the church. By the time I got there, he and his wife were already hard at work. They had three of the drawers out of one of the cabinets and were working on getting the cabinet itself loaded onto a dolly. I jumped in and did my best to help, all the while thinking of how much effort this required of him. There was never a word of complaint, never a mumble or a sense that he wanted to be somewhere else or doing something else, which, to be honest, is certainly what was going through my mind. He was simply happy to be coming to the rescue of a friend in need. That is chivalry.
We had just loaded the second cabinet into the back of the pickup and were strapping things down when I glanced up at the traffic on the busy street that runs alongside our church parking lot. I happened to catch sight of a small pickup and its driver. As they passed, the driver watched our goings on. I suppose we were quite a sight. After all, it’s not every day you see an elderly couple and a woman in a skirt and dress blouse hauling filing cabinets up into the bed of a pickup truck. A few minutes later, just as we were tying the last knot, that same pickup pulled into our parking lot and right up next to where we were working.
We greeted the man through his open window. He returned the greeting and then promptly said, “Do you guys need help?”
Enter knight number two. That man, like all the others who passed us, could have so easily just kept on going. But he didn’t. He drove up to the roundabout, went all the way around it, and came back to help us. That is chivalry.
We laughed about how we had just finished.
“Well,” he joked, “that’s what life’s all about, right? Timing?” But he didn’t just whip back out on the road again and leave us. He asked twice more if he could help somehow. He saw a situation of obvious need and wouldn’t let it go until he knew for sure he could do nothing. That is chivalry.
Once he had gone, we loaded the three drawers, covered them with a blanket, and then took the whole load to the house. We got everything safely put into place, and I only had to crawl over the porch banisters once to do it! Now, my mom can sort and file to her heart’s content. But if it hadn’t been for these knights, our deacon in particular, the cabinets would still be at the church with no one to get them where they belong.
My knights were simple men. Neither of them wore suits of armor. Neither of them rode gallant steeds. They chose pickups instead—the very thing needed for the task. I’m sure neither of them saw anything particularly special about what they were doing, but in truth they had picked up the banner of chivalry and were bearing it well.
Has someone behaved gallantly toward you recently? I’d love to hear your story! Please share in the comments below.
P.S. I haven’t been posting much of late, but that’s because I’ve been working on something big. Keep an eye out because it’s coming soon. If you haven’t already, take a minute to subscribe to Shadows of Chivalry (top right hand corner). That way you won’t miss anything!
[This post has been moved from www.shadowsofchivalry.wordpress.com. It was originally posted on September 11, 2015.]