Now there is a title that will touch the heart of any reader and I hope my story will touch your heart or give you a good laugh as it did me.
My daughter had occupied a small apartment for a short while and then moved. It just happened that my friend Janet also lived in that apartment and I had invited myself down to visit her and have lunch with her…I brought the lunch. We have been friends for years so I can do this kind of thing.
Alas, the entry code to the building had changed and for the life of me I could not remember her apartment number and the names on the code had all disappeared. I tried one number and when the voice answered I said “So sorry to bother you, but I can’t remember the number of Janet’s apartment.” A voice replied…”This is Rebecca and I am sorry I can’t help you I am at work.” More than a little embarrassed I tried another number. “Please can you help me get into the building I can’t remember Janet’s apartment number.” A voice replied…”Well, why don’t you just walk around to the back and bang on her patio door?” I replied, somewhat tersely “I can’t walk all the way around this building, I am carrying a heavy load and I am over 80 years old.”….there was a poignant pause and this questioning voice said…”Mom?”
Somehow the apartment agency had neglected to take her number off their list for her old apartment…and that is the number I had pressed. For a while we were silent in shock and then we both laughed…I know God speaks to people (but seldom audibly…) but to hear my daughter’s voice coming over the phone really shook me up.
I shook her up too. “Now I know how you talk to other people.” She said, as she recalled my not so motherly voice that she is more used to.
I guess I will have to be more careful about the buttons I push.
At that matter we all need to be careful about that. We are pushing people’s buttons all the time and sometimes the connections can cause strange things to happen. A harsh word, a frown or just plain ignoring someone can cause a little heartbreak in the other individual. When those actions continue they can break a relationship. We are fragile creatures, regardless of the way we appear…we can be hurt easily.
The Lord instructs us to love one another because he made us sensitive…sensitive to His love and to the love we receive from others. Be careful about the buttons you push…you might find someone at the other end of the line saying “Mom?”
