I have to share with you my friend’s story……(for privacy purposes, I’m using fictitious names – thanks for understanding)
On Sunday my friend, Kelly was in her husband’s office at the church that he pastors. She stopped in briefly to talk with him and the phone rang. Understand, it was Sunday morning, offices were closed and she typically doesn’t answer the phone at the church office, but she did. There was a female voice on the other end asking if there was any way she could get picked up to attend their church service that morning. Kelly asked a few questions, what’s your name? where are you? The caller answered, “My name is Heather, I’m at a woman’s shelter a few miles away, I just got out of the hospital last night, I’m here because of a domestic abuse situation and I’d really like to attend your church. If it’s not too much to ask I really would like a ride.” Kelly talked with her a little longer and got off the phone. Heather told her that she would be waiting on the corner outside for her to pick her up.
This was an odd phone call. When Kelly answered the phone she assumed that someone was calling who needed to know the times of the services or maybe someone needed directions – who would’ve thought there would be a call this early in the morning from a random person with such a need? AND What were the chances that Kelly just happened to be in the church office to pick up the phone? THIS was a GOD thing! How cool was that!
Ok, so Kelly made a phone call to the woman’s shelter to ensure that the call was legit, did some due diligence and off she went to pick up Heather; she took along a guy from the church to ride in the car with her for safety reasons.
During the drive to church Kelly and Heather got to know each other. Heather shared with her the situation she was in and how she had broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder and had been beaten by her boyfriend. She explained that she almost died and could not go back to the home where she was living and that she needed to get far away from there so her boyfriend would not find her. She had NOTHING just the clothes on her back and a small suitcase. She was in a lot of pain. Defeated. No money. No strength.
With the help of Kelly’s church they were able to help Heather purchase a bus ticket to make the journey to another women’s shelter that would get her closer to her family. She was very grateful for the help.
One question that Kelly asked Heather was, “What prompted you to call our church? Did you find us in the yellow pages? or what?” Heather responded, “While I was in the hospital last night, the nurse that cared for me suggested that I call your church, she gave me your phone number and said that your church would be compassionate and loving. So I called. That’s how I found you.”
As Kelly and Heather’s encounter was coming to an end, Heather was dropped off at the shelter to get a taxi to take her to the bus station. Kelly asked her one last question. She said, “Heather, do you have a relationship with God? What keeps you going.” To Kelly’s surprise she responded, “My father is a baptist minister. Several years ago he told me that I could NOT be a part of HIS family UNLESS I got my tattoo removed, I stopped smoking, and I stopped living my life the way I had been living it. He has put conditions upon me to be accepted. I’ve done so many terrible things that God could NEVER forgive me. I am unlovable – God would not want me.”
Through both of their tears Kelly shared with Heather that she IS worthy of God’s unconditional love no matter what she had done in the past and that what she was believing were lies. God loves you – JUST AS YOU ARE – He created you, chose YOU! Kelly was able to give her some materials to read to help her understand God’s love and forgiveness and then Heather was gone.
I was touched by this story and I have to tell you why; this is SO Keeping it Personal – I LOVE IT!! You see it’s the little things that we do that make the most impact AND it’s those very simple things that we do or say that we may NEVER know the impact it has on another life.
The nurse who referred Heather to Kelly’s church DID NOT let the lingering thought pass through her mind – she took ACTION! She shared with Heather, she encouraged her, THAT IS Keeping it Personal.
Kelly, picked up the phone, LISTENED, asked questions, gathered information, DID NOT pass judgement and that impacted Heather’s life.
The nurse AND Kelly may never know how what they did or what they said impacted Heather’s life, but they took action and it is so GREAT!! Priceless.
I am inspired by this story. I was grateful that Kelly shared it with me. I hope that it inspires you to take action on those little thoughts no matter what the outcome might be.
I grew up in a rural farming town of about 1200 in central MN. Life was simple then. People took the time to stop each other on the street and visit. Have coffee. Make cookies. Life wasn’t as rushed as it is now. In my opinion, there was a lot more focus on relationship. Relationships with children, spouses, friends, neighbors, teachers, pastors, bankers… Kids weren’t running from this activity to that sporting event- or at least not as often as they are now. Families sat down and had dinner together at night. I suppose because the work day predictably ended at 5pm (at least it did in my parent’s home). There weren’t fast food restaurants to run to, or pizza delivery options to choose from.
I remember my mom getting together on a regular basis with other women and their children for ‘coffee’. This ‘coffee’ group I suspect, was really a group of amazing women getting together to talk about parenting, marriage, life experiences both good and bad. They shared each others joys and sorrows. They were a built in support group for each other and never hesitated to pray for one another. If my memory serves me correct, these were all stay at home moms, who in order to stay connected with each other, made an effort to get together in each other’s living rooms and talk. Even if it was about a new recipe they found, or a new quilting pattern they were going to try. In fact, this ‘coffee’ group continues to this day, in a more limited fashion. They are still getting together throwing bridal showers, baby showers and attending weddings for the children who were carted along to these coffee groups. (We enjoyed it by the way!)
For me, Keeping It Personal is about bringing to my life a deliberate effort to do just that. Keep it Personal. I don’t expect it to mirror my description above, as life is different now. In fact, I am sure it wasn’t as ‘simple’ as my memory would have me believe. But there are changes I can make, which I think will ultimately impact my children, my marriage, my relationship with God, and others. I was talking to Teri earlier tonight, and told her this. I have no real idea what this blog is going to turn into. Seriously, I don’t think I even knew what a blog was a year ago! I feel like we have a blank canvas in front of us. We have given much thought and prayer into KIP, and don’t feel like either of us has a clear picture of what this final work of art will look like. We want to take this opportunity to be real, to share from our own experiences, to learn from others’ experiences, and to inspire people to take it back a notch. Occasionally step out of the high tech, fast paced world we live in, and into the ‘living rooms’ of our friends both old and new…. and keep it personal. Kind of ironic that we chose a blog to carry out that message, right?
There is a bit of anxiety on my part about putting this blog out there for everyone to see. A vulnerability. I just pray that God-willing, we will encourage each other, and those who choose to follow us to keep it real, by keeping it personal.
