First Aid Stations

“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.”  Romans 12:13

In 1974, Randy was assigned to his first “job” in the ministry as the associate pastor of Dalton First United Methodist Church.  We moved into a darling parsonage on Dug Gap Road and began ministry there.

The house was nestled at the bottom of a steep, curvy hill with a huge tree near the road by the mailbox and a creek running through the front yard. There was an ugly chain link fence around the side of the house by the road, and a gate which you could close once your car was in the open air garage.  I remember wondering why on earth that would be necessary? That little tidbit of information would become clear to us.

One night a few weeks after we moved in as we were sitting in our little den, we heard the screeching of tires, saw lights coming fast, and a huge crash!  We looked at each other in horror and ran to the garage door!  A car had hit the huge tree, the hood was crushed and smoking, and two people were struggling to get out.  Randy was the first there, and as he brought the two into the kitchen, I dialed (yes dialed) for help.  The gentleman was bleeding from his head, and the woman’s arm had an unusual bend at the wrist.  They were both in shock, so when the man pulled back his hair and asked Randy if it was bad, I almost fainted!  It was very bad!

Thus began the Mickler first aid station!  This event happened every time it rained, sleeted, someone took the hill too fast, or anything in between. We stocked the house with first aid supplies, had the wrecker and EMT service on stand by, and prepared ourselves for the inevitable.  It got to be such an event that soon our neighbors and friends would come down to spend the evening and help out. Several times the men helped to pull a car out of the creek in front of the house, and I learned to never clean the house if rain was predicted.  We became the first area of care these people received, and we wanted it to be as positive as it could be.

As we met all kinds of different people, we had a chance to minister to them in a small way.  Some joined our church, some came back by with a thank you, and some did nothing.  How they reacted didn’t matter, it was how WE felt.  From this small experience, we learned the value of reaching out to those in need, and a heart for Missions began.  I think that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “practice hospitality.”

“Others may do a greater work, but you have your part to do; And no one in all God’s heritage can do it so well as you.”  Streams in the Desert