Answered Phone Call

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.

Daily KIP:  Mother Teresa once said, "If you judge people, you have no time to love them." It is so easy to make judgements of others in our hearts and minds. Do you take the time to ask questions and gather information to better understand others; before you judge or form an opinion?

It isn't what you get, it is what you become.

This year I was able to attend my home church, Hosanna!, to celebrate Christmas Eve. For the first time ever, they had a live nativity scene. It was simply amazing. The front altar was covered with hay, and roaming about were 2 camels, a donkey, goat, lamb, calf and geese. Throughout the service, the lamb “baa’ed” and made his voice heard. The dust from the hay emcompassed the congregation, my daughter’s eyes began to water, and we both began to sneeze. The Christmas carols sounded sweet as I’ve ever heard, and a part of me felt like I was really there. It was one of those moments where I looked over at my husband and thought to myself, wow. We are so blessed. Sitting between us were our 2 beautiful children. We were among the animals celebrating Jesus’ birth.

Part of our pastor’s message was this. So much of Christmas has become “what did you get for Christmas?” He said something simple, but something that I’d like to remember. “It isn’t what you get, it is what you become.” I like that. A good overall life lesson. It isn’t what you have, what kind of car you drive, how many toys you own, or how nice your house is- in other words: what you get. It is who you are, and who you become. Approaching every new year, I try and take a good hard look at myself. Who would I like to become, and what am I going to do to get there?

I go back to the fruits of the spirit- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness and self control. I can’t think of a better character checklist than that. Now, where do I begin?

Daily KIP:  Go out of your way to say THANK YOU to others for the little things.

Daily KIP:  Consider honoring the day of rest. Use today to rest up after the busy holiday. Spend time with your families and unwind from the chaos the holidays sometimes bring. Watch a good movie, read a book, or simply have good conversation with those around you!

Daily KIP:  Often times we will never know if or how the simple things we do are making an impact or helping others. "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you." John Wooden

1st Class Connection

On Sunday I got to the airport to catch an evening flight to Ft. Myers, FL.  To my surprise when I checked in, thanks to upgrades, I was seated in 1st Class!  I LOVE it when that happens.  So here were my thoughts......it’s been a LONG week, I haven’t been feeling well AT ALL and I can’t wait to board the airplane, get a pillow and a blanket and sleep for about 3 hours - YES, I need sleep!!

Little did I know that God had other plans for me.  As I got settled into my seat I casually started talking to the guy sitting next to me.  Small talk, “How’s it going?”, “So thankful for the upgrade.”, “Are you from Florida, or just visiting?” Our small talked turned into a 3 hour conversation and NO sleep, but it was worth it!

After about 45 minutes of talking I finally learned that the guy I was talking to had a name, it was Tom.    We shook hands after we formally introduced ourselves to each other and continued talking.  As we talked I learned that Tom was in the financial services industry.  He was heading to Florida looking to potentially purchase another company to grow his company.

I also learned that he was in the process of writing a book.  Boy did I have LOTS of questions about his book project.  I too have a dream of writing a book someday.  His message as he described it to me that he’s writing about in his book was similar to my vision with Keeping it Personal, except with a business angel, how cool is that!!  I was so intrigued by what he was saying and the wisdom that he had with his many years of experience, I can’t WAIT to pick up his book when he’s finished.

Another topic that we covered during the flight was simplifying and living a life of balance; both seem to be so difficult to accomplish at times with everything going on in this world.  One thing that I learned from him and REALLY liked and will incorporate into my life is this.  He said that many times each day he asks himself this......

ADD --- KEEP --- GET RID OF

Ok, so how does that work?, I asked.  First he explained, you have to determine what’s important to you and what is it that you need and desire to KEEP.  THEN as life happens and we are faced to ADD things into our world, whether it’s a material possession or something that will take a time commitment or something in business to expand or grow - how will that effect your KEEP?  As we determine how our KEEP is effected, what, if anything do we need to GET RID OF in order to ADD?

I know it’s a little complicated so let me give you an example on how I relate this to my life.  My husband and I have made a decision that 2010 is our year to simplify - we aren’t going to TRY to do this we ARE doing this and ARE making changes as we do our year end planning and 2010 planning.  

As we make our KEEP list we’ve determined that there are many things that we currently have that we are going to sell or eliminate in our lives in order to have more time and resources.......so our list of GET RID OF is growing and we will work towards that goal in the coming months.  The ADD hits us daily.  We are constantly being approached by others to invest in new “ventures” which take resources that we want to KEEP, so we will have to pay very close attention to this and be sure to go through this exercise - sometimes we can get caught up with a “great opportunity” act too fast and before we know it get completely out of balance because it’s effecting our KEEP and we don’t want to GET RID OF what we wanted to KEEP so as we look back we probably should not have ADDED in the first place.

I am grateful for the connection I made on Sunday and for what I learned from Tom, he inspired me in many ways.  I truly believe it will be life changing.......it's a simple way for me to look at the way I do life.

I wanted to post this on Christmas as I know that for many this is the time of year that we ADD to our lives with Christmas gifts from others.  As you wrap up 2009 and bring on 2010, consider Tom’s statement.  ADD --- KEEP --- GET RID OF.  Is there imbalance in your world?  What can you do to simplify or what adjustments do you feel need to be made?

Wishing you Peace and Joy and a Merry Christmas!