Wait, Did I Really Do That?

What makes an otherwise perfectly sane woman—who has NEVER done any rappelling/rock climbing/etc.—suddenly decide she’s willing to rappel down the side of a 12-story building? For me, it was the chance to help a non-profit that is near and dear to my heart raise money to expand its reach.

It all started when I was sitting in the Starbucks drive-thru line back in July. The couple in line behind me started having car trouble and pulled out of line and into a parking space to investigate. Their out-of-state tags and worried expressions made me decide that the very least I could do was pay for their coffee.

The line crept slowly forward until it was finally my turn to pay. The cashier leaned out, told me my total, swiped my card, and handed it back before I could spit out the words to say that I wanted to pay for the other couple. Since I figured that my card would have needed to be swiped a second time anyway, I just waited (and waited and waited) for her to open the window again. As I waited, I noticed that the man whose car had just conked out had already walked inside to pick up his order.

Finally, the cashier opened the drive-thru window to hand me my coffee—at the same time the man walked back outside with his. It was too late. I had missed my opportunity.

I drove off, mentally kicking myself for not knocking on the window to get the cashier’s attention. As I did, a commercial came on the radio talking about something called Over the Edge that was coming to Knoxville to benefit The Restoration House. All I needed to do was sign up to rappel down the side of the 12-story Langley Building in downtown Knoxville and get sponsors to donate at least $1,000. This was it! My chance to make up for not trying harder to help the couple. The fact that it was for a non-profit that I had already wanted to get involved with made it even better. Mind you, I was absolutely terrified to have to ask people to donate, but it was the perfect way for me to do something good.

The Restoration House is a non-profit organization that “helps restore single mothers and their children back to God’s good intent for their lives. Through supportive transitional housing, ally teams, and family advocacy, TRH walks alongside low-income single-mother families, helping them break harmful cycles and regain hope and a future.”