04/18/2026
It's ok to ask for help:
Our elderly neighbor, who lives alone, tucked back into the woods, stopped by to ask for some help with his garage door. He told me that he was trying to fix the door himself, and when he started to explain the situation, I got a little concerned.
Upon arrival, I saw this was one of the most dangerous situations a garage door can be in. Spring was still loaded, one cable spun off the drum putting all the spring tension on the other cable, thus pulling the door sideways. Two of the top rollers came out of the track on one side, and the bottom roller came out on the other. The door wedged itself in the track, the only thing holding this door from folding itself in.
He is on a fixed income, and money is tight, but that didn't matter to me. All I saw was an accident waiting to happen, and I could not let that slide. I jumped into action to get this door into a safe position, no questions asked.
Once I got the door into position, I ran back over to the shop to grab what I could to band-aid the door back together. A few rollers here, a few braces there, bend the tracks back into place, reset the cables, tighten the spring. It may not be perfect, but I couldn't justify leaving it alone just because he had no money. Door was operating by hand with ease, so, it was time to adjust the opener.
The opener would not lift the garage door, all it did was make a loud grinding noise... I immediately knew the issue. Unfortunately, when the door came loose it broke all the teeth off on his screw drive trolley and it was just slipping and grinding on it. I pulled it off, installed a new trolley, and got this door back into operation.
Once finished, I let him know that we're here to help, no matter the situation. Money isn't everything, life is more valuable. If he needs anything, don't hesitate to ask. I shook his hand, told him God Bless, and went on my way. Nothing in my pocket, but hope in his heart.
Hebrews 10:23-25
