My Heart to Yours

I got a phone call early one morning -- the kind that wakes you from sleep and tells you by the timing that something isn't right. It was an urgent call for prayer for Christine, a church friend, who had lost her young husband suddenly in the wee hours.

At five a.m. it's hard to figure the right response. It really isn't any easier at 9 a.m. I clicked into auto pilot mode and did what any service-minded church woman would do: I started making a casserole. But something just didn't feel right. Who cares about a casserole when your partner has died and you suddenly realize you are alone to raise your boys?

I stopped sauteing onions and called someone who would know. My friend Kathleen had herself been through this tragedy. She would know the right response. She told me in no uncertain terms to turn off the stove and just go there. "What should I say?" I wondered. "Nothing," she said, "just go." So, like an obedient child, I did. I drove to Christine's and just showed up. I had no words, just an embrace. It was a sweet time of comfort--purposely quiet comfort.

I have never forgotten those instructions and have been called upon to use them several times since. It has been a blessing to know I don't have to be equipped with words or casseroles when someone is at a loss -- just a shoulder, a place to rest. When you have a friend that is in pain, just go. Be the arms of Jesus, the shoulder of Jesus, the comfort of Jesus. It is more than enough.