Perhaps you’ve seen a short cartoon entitled “Mickey’s Trailer.” It stars the well-known trio of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. All is going well, with Goofy towing the trailer behind an old jalopy and the other two riding in the fantastic little camper behind.
But then Mickey rings the dinner bell. Goofy abandons his post at the wheel and hurries to the camper for a bite to eat. The car is left to idle precariously along a winding mountain road. After a few minutes, Mickey asks, “Hey, who’s driving?” To which Goofy responds, “Why, I’m driving.”
Goofy scrambles out of the camper window and back into the driver’s seat, shouting to his friends, “The worst is over! It’s all downhill from here!” But Goofy never looks back to see that as he climbed back to the car he managed to unhitch the trailer. The car putters ahead, but the trailer begins to careen backwards down the mountain road.
His friends and their belongings are battered as the trailer sideswipes the guard rails, narrowly misses one collision with a truck and two more with a train. They are treated to one near-death experience after another before the travel trailer is ultimately sent rolling end-over-end down the mountainside.
Meanwhile, Goofy has been heading down the mountain as well, and it’s been going pretty smoothly. He’s singing a happy tune and taking in the beautiful scenery.
By chance, the trailer rolls right behind the car and the hitch snaps into place. At which point Goofy turns around for the first time, and remarks proudly, “Wulp, I brought you down safe and sound!”
Sometimes we may find ourselves living this way. When everything seems to be under control in our own lives, we may be tempted to just relax and enjoy the ride. But just because all is well for us, doesn’t mean that those around us aren’t struggling. There are always others who are suffering from poor health. There are always those who are lonely. There are always those who have not yet found salvation or who are struggling with their faith. If we don’t take the time to look around, we may miss an opportunity to help when we are in the best position to do so. What better way to celebrate our blessings than to glorify God by helping and encouraging others?
–Tyler Walker, The Weekly Bulletin, May 5, 2013