Doctor Fred Collier, a retired physician tells this story about his youth.

He was a medical student in the Army Specialized Training Corps in 1945 when World War II ended.  He was from a Kansas family that didn't have the kind of money he needed to complete medical school on his own.  And so when he mustered out of the army, he had no idea how he'd ever finish school, if indeed he'd ever finish it all.

One day he happened to pick up a copy of a magazine in a barber shop. One of the articles talked about the kindness and compassion of Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband, President Franklin Roosevelt had died just a few months before.

That article planted a seed in Fred's mind. He went to the local library and with the help of the librarian found Mrs. Roosevelt's home address. Then he sat down and composed a letter telling her about his plight. He wrote it and rewrote until he had it exactly the way he wanted it.

When he put the letter in an envelope and dropped it in the mailbox, even his young wife wondered if it was worth the time and the postage he'd spent on it.

To Fred's amazement, Mrs. Roosevelt agreed to meet him. When the meeting ended, she promised to help him. In the months and years ahead Fred got checks through Mrs. Roosevelt from a variety of sources, including her own personal checks. Fred, in turn, kept her informed of his progress and sent her copies of all his term papers. Her secretary said later that she always read them with great interest.

Later Mrs. Roosevelt visited the couple in their sparsely furnished apartment. The owner of the apartment nearly collapsed when he recognized the famous visitor.

When Fred finally finished Medical School he told Mrs. Roosevelt that he didn't know how he would ever be able to repay her. She said that repayment wasn't necessary nor desirable.  Then she added "I will be adequately repaid if, when you are financially secure someday, you help out someone else who is truly deserving, as you were."

Doctor Fred Collier reached out for help and he received it. As did blind Bartimaeus. It is a hard thing to do, this asking, a difficult thing, a humbling thing, but there are times when we all need help, times when we must turn to our parents once again for help, or to our children. Sometimes it is to the church. Sometimes to God.