How startled I was to see an old car headed straight toward me down the wrong side of the highway. I stopped, of course. So did the vehicles in the other two lanes to my right.

What must I do? I wondered, as the jalopy veered across two lanes and rolled to a stop a few yards in front of oncoming traffic. I looked around in an attempt to read the response of the other drivers. No one seemed to know what to do, so, being in front of the “pack,” I jumped from my car and ran to the driver’s side of the wayward vehicle.

“Are you all right, Ma’am? I asked the white-haired lady behind the wheel?

“I guess I’m confused,” she said sadly. “I’m not sure where I went wrong.”

By this time, a burly truck driver had descended from his rig. He held the traffic at bay while I directed the little lady to safety, ignoring the blares and glares of impatient drivers. I watched her disappear down a side street and prayed that she would make it home without another, more serious, wrong turn.

As teachers, we encounter people regularly who are spiritually confused, people who need us to help them find their way. But, unlike my little friend, many do not recognize their lostness. We must be willing to throw ourselves between them and sure disaster in order to point them toward God. That’s what Jesus did.

—Shirley G. Spencer