I Gotchu

Last week, my son and I drove to San Antonio for my grandson’s (his son) baseball team’s game. We accomplished our 2-hour trip to the opposing team’s field, but I saw a Jack-in-the-Box and turned in to go to the restroom. But the doors were locked – only drive-thru was offered. Ryan said: “I’d like an iced tea – let’s go through the drive thru.” At the speaker, I ordered him his unsweetened iced tea. He wanted me to ask if it was fresh-brewed. The reply was “Oh, yes, it is. I gotchu!” Then I asked if I could have the kids’ meal cheese burger with everything on it. He said again “I gotchu!”

Well, that “I gotchu!” didn’t hold true because Ryan’s iced tea was sweetened and when I opened my bag, what was supposed to have been a burger was a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich. Oh, me! He really didn’t have me/us at all!

Yesterday, I purchased an area rug for my home and asked the salesperson if she could have someone load it for me. She said, “I gotchu!” I laughed and told her my Jack-in-the-Box story. But when I brought my car to the front of the store – that salesperson was distracted with a little dog she was holding. No one waiting to help me. What happened to her “I gotchu”?

I wanted to find out what this “I gotchu!” saying really means. Webster’s says: “It’s a statement used for your trust in return. Otherwise said by someone that swears to be there because you are going through hard times. A statement of loyalty, friendship, and/or protection from anyone or anything that will cause you harm.”

The truth is – there are few people we can count on with absolute certainly that when they say “I gotchu” — we know they “gotchu”. So much stuff can happen, so in reality no one can, without a doubt, assure us they “gotchu”.

I remember my husband teaching our young children to swim. He stood in the water beckoning them, with arms open wide, to jump in to him. “Come on, buddy. You can do this. I got you, buddy. I got you.” Our little guy edged closer, then backed away. But the closer daddy got to him with his arms open, the more confidence our little guy had to release his fears, run into daddy’s arms and into the water he went. Our little guy could have refused, but he trusted instead. And over the many times of realizing his daddy’s words, he gained courage to go farther and farther. It was his assurance that no matter how scary it felt, he was not alone. His daddy had him.

As I read through the Bible this year, I continue to get so many of God’s “I gotchu!” inspirations. I’m reading about what Joshua needed when he was thrust overnight into leadership after the death of Moses. Up until that time, Joshua had served as his assistant. But in his new role, Joshua had to lead the nation of Israel and conquer the land God had promised. God said to Joshua “No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you.” (Joshua 1:5). That is what I call an authentic “I gotchu!”

Back to my “I gotchu” area rug story. When I returned home with it, I thought, “How can I carry and maneuver getting this heavy rug inside – AND move furniture to lay it down?” Then what to my wandering eyes would appear – not 25 feet away, but our maintenance man. I hollered – “Are you 100% too busy to give me a hand?” He asked what I needed and within 10 minutes he had picked up the rug, moved heavy furniture off my floor to slide the rug underneath. AND, whoa-la — done and done. And I hear God’s still small voice say: “I gotchu!” And He does – all the time!