Thursday, October 28, 2010

Audience of One

     The apnea monitor went off, the signal to let me know that our foster baby had stopped breathing again.  But this time, his mother was holding him and this was the first time she and I had met.  Tears of desparation and fear gathered in her eyes as she looked at me, her whole being frozen and unable to help him.  Reaching over her lap to take the baby, I massaged his back and followed the procedures to stimulate his little lungs into action.

     My painful toothache had quickly developed, requiring a root canal.  We were new in town, and had only been to church twice.  I needed someone to watch my six children, but I really didn’t know anyone well enough to request such an enormous favor.  The moment after I hung up the phone to confirm my dentist appointment for the following day, my phone rang.  It was a lady at church calling to welcome us to the community and to ask if we needed anything.

     “If you’re ever in that area, you should meet my sister.  I think you two would really like each other,” a friend told me.  A month later, I dug around in my purse for the little piece of paper with a phone number on it, and twenty minutes later, was standing on a doorstep introducing myself to a perfect stranger.

     What do these three seemingly unrelated experiences have in common? 

     Friendships are supposed to begin with a cordial introduction followed by a lunch date or meeting at the park to chat while the children play together happily, aren’t they?  Maybe.  But many of my deepest friendships began with a crisis, a desparate need or a very random and spontaneous decision.
    
    Catastrophes, emergencies, calamities, predicaments or disasters are the stage for opportunities to step into their role as encouragement, trust, integrity, hope and friendship.  And as each scene is portrayed, there is thundrous applause from the Audience of One.

"Therefore, when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no man may be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this."  I Thessalonians 3:1-3

1 comment:

  1. good thoughts. Smalley says close-knit families go through lots of crisis together and come out the closer for it. I'm thinking our little family should be tight as a banjo after this month :)

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