Just Ask

Lupita collapsed on the ship’s deck with a shuddering gasp. The expansive crack in her helmet’s visor stood stark across her flickering navigation screen. She was just barely coming to terms with how much damage that last wave of attacks had done when she saw the blackened underside of the control panel. All the repairs she’d managed to make in that short time had been undone in a matter of seconds. Her heart sank as she realized how much time this was going to take to fix time they just didn’t have. “I can’t do it,” she whispered as the reality of the situation began to seep in. “Finally,” a garbled voice echoed from across the room. Lupita jerked her head up to see her newest crewmate, whose name she could never pronounce, straighten up. He pushed himself off the control board he’d been casually leaning on. “Took you long enough to admit.” “What?” Lupita coughed. “H-how long have you been there?” “I was always there.” The alien slid over to her, sealing the crack in her helmet with the mere swipe of his hand. He knelt down and poked his head under the circuit board beside hers and began to refasten the dangling wires. Lupita reached up to finish what she started, sending him a hooded glare. “I would’ve been fine.” He turned one eye to look at her. “No,” he remarked, hands continuing to move. “You wouldn’t have.” “I don’t need your help,” she snapped. He stopped. “Yes, you do.” Then he dropped his hands and pushed himself out from under the panel. “However, I can wait until you recognize it.” As soon as he finished speaking, the ship shuddered, the panel showering sparks on her. Lupita shrieked, rolling from under the circuit board and swatting the sparks out. She looked up at the alien, then to the broken circuit board, then to her fragmented ship, and finally back to the alien. She sighed, her shoulders drooping. “Fine,” she said. “You’re right. I can’t do it please. Help me?” “Of course.” He smiled, ducking under the panel again. “All you had to do was ask.” • Elizabeth Oldham • When you’re overwhelmed, do you ever find it difficult to ask for help from God or people? Ask, and it will be given to you For everyone who asks receives Matthew 7:7-8 (CSB)