Many Blessings

I met a woman named Many Blessings. No lie. That's what her name was.It was Labor Day, and we spent the morning hiking in a popular park in Mckinney. We had been out for a few hours and were getting back in the car to leave.I was turned around in the driver's seat, making sure all my little kids had their seatbelts on. There was a loud knock on my window.Startled, I turned and saw a woman standing right outside my car. I rolled down the window. She said she had locked her keys in her car and asked if I could give her a ride home?I paused.Inside I was panicking a bit. I quickly scanned the parking lot and didn't see other cars. Not even one."I'm sorry, but we are headed the opposite way. I can't give you a ride."She nodded in understanding and walked away. As I rolled up my window, I felt awful. What is wrong with me??Questions from my curious kids were flying out at astronomical speeds. "Who was that?" "Did you say you couldn't help her?" "Are you scared?" "Aren't we SUPPOSED to help people?" "Was she going to hurt us?"My answers were slow and labored, and confusing. I don't know...I'm not sure...yes, kind of, yes!...maybe...AAAHHHH!"Everyone be quiet so I can THINK!", I yelled.I sat and evaluated the situation. Crazy people are everywhere, and I wasn't sure if the woman was one or not. She looked benign, and yet I didn't see a car? Was she dangerous? Why would she lie about locking her keys in her car?I had five young kids with me, too! So I didn't want to put any of them at risk. Was this woman a risk?I decided to drive around and see if there were any more cars. The parking lot extended much farther than I could see initially, and as we went over a hill I saw several more cars parked. Oh no...I was doubting my decision more and more.I turned the car around and looked for the woman. I saw her, still walking with an armful of books. Then I remembered that she had said she was studying...I pulled up next to her and rolled down the passenger window. Sheepishly I told her we could give her a ride home after all.She thanked me and got into the car."My name is Many Blessings."I'll admit, the irony of her name was not lost on me.We chatted it up as I drove her home. She told me she was studying to become a nurse, and then we talked about kids in general. It was a nonstop, pleasant conversation.About 15 minutes later, I dropped her off in front of her home. It was incredulous how far she was going to walk to get home.I was so grateful I had changed my mind. She got out of the car and I immediately started looking for directions to the new Costco. We needed a few things and had planned to stop at the new one on the way home. Many Blessings noticed this and walked back to our car. She asked if I needed directions? I told her about stopping at Costco and she told me how to get there. Thankfully, it was about a half mile from her home.Many Blessings.I've thought a lot about this, and I still wonder what the right thing to do is. I don't think it is a clear cut issue. Sometimes people are sketchy. Isn't it my job to protect my family? Who needs help and compassion and who is dangerous? And does it matter at all? Do we help everyone regardless of the risk? I don't think so. In my opinion, caution is better than naïveté.I do know you can't tell by appearances. Ted Bundy was handsome and charming, and he was SCARY. And deadly.Wouldn't it be great if you could tell if people were good or bad based on their names? Then if the hitch-hiker's name was Stabber, you'd know to just move on.Psycho? No thanks, dude.Many Blessings? Sure, come on in.Deviant? Move along, move along.If only real life were so easy.