I woke up with a migraine headache early this morning. I put the pillows over my head, rolled over, and tried to sleep away the burning pain in my head. Just as I was dozing back to sleep at 7:06 a.m., my phone rang. I looked at the number and didn't recognize it. Normally I wouldn't answer, but I figured if someone was calling that early in the morning, they must really want something.
I answered the phone and on the other end was the shaky voice of an elderly woman. "Is Joey there?" she said. I said, "No Ma’am, you have the wrong number." She apologized. I told her it was ok. She kept talking. My pounding head and I was not up for a conversation so early in the morning, but out of respect, I listened.
For the next 3 minutes, she began to explain why she was trying to get in touch with Joey. You see, Joey lives with her and also works for her and he came in last night and told her the authorities had found his brother dead under a bridge. She said Joey left the house upset and she hadn't seen or heard from him. Joey's brother was homeless and had been living on the streets for some time. Joey had tried to help his brother and had just seen him a couple of days ago and gave him money. She said Joey and his brother's father never showed him so he had struggled all his life and didn't feel loved. By this time she had become emotional. She started telling me about how important love is. "Loving someone doesn't cost anything", she said. Through her tears and with her voice breaking, she shared all of this with me.
I tried to interject at this point to bring the unusual conversation to a close. Before I could interject she started in again."Honey can I ask you a personal question?" I replied, "Yes." She said, "Are you a Christian?" I replied "Yes." "Oh good then you know that Jesus is love". After a few more minutes of her talking, I said, "You know, sometimes God calls people home to give them a better life." I told her I would be praying for her and Joey. She thanked me and she continued talking. A few seconds later she ended the call abruptly by saying, "Honey, I have to go, this is Joey calling on the other line." She thanked me for listening to her and wished me a good day.
I sat there for a minute after the call ended and tried to process what had just happened. People misdial my number frequently, but never has anyone engaged me in a conversation like this one and for that long. The stinging pain in my head had again taken center stage and was calling me to continue on with my plan to sleep it off. I didn't get the woman's name but I guess I didn't need it. I prayed for her and Joey. I also thanked
God for giving me the spirit to see through my own pain to help someone else through theirs. Traci H.
If you want others to be happy, show compassion. If you want to be happy, show compassion. -RevRun
I answered the phone and on the other end was the shaky voice of an elderly woman. "Is Joey there?" she said. I said, "No Ma’am, you have the wrong number." She apologized. I told her it was ok. She kept talking. My pounding head and I was not up for a conversation so early in the morning, but out of respect, I listened.
For the next 3 minutes, she began to explain why she was trying to get in touch with Joey. You see, Joey lives with her and also works for her and he came in last night and told her the authorities had found his brother dead under a bridge. She said Joey left the house upset and she hadn't seen or heard from him. Joey's brother was homeless and had been living on the streets for some time. Joey had tried to help his brother and had just seen him a couple of days ago and gave him money. She said Joey and his brother's father never showed him so he had struggled all his life and didn't feel loved. By this time she had become emotional. She started telling me about how important love is. "Loving someone doesn't cost anything", she said. Through her tears and with her voice breaking, she shared all of this with me.
I tried to interject at this point to bring the unusual conversation to a close. Before I could interject she started in again."Honey can I ask you a personal question?" I replied, "Yes." She said, "Are you a Christian?" I replied "Yes." "Oh good then you know that Jesus is love". After a few more minutes of her talking, I said, "You know, sometimes God calls people home to give them a better life." I told her I would be praying for her and Joey. She thanked me and she continued talking. A few seconds later she ended the call abruptly by saying, "Honey, I have to go, this is Joey calling on the other line." She thanked me for listening to her and wished me a good day.
I sat there for a minute after the call ended and tried to process what had just happened. People misdial my number frequently, but never has anyone engaged me in a conversation like this one and for that long. The stinging pain in my head had again taken center stage and was calling me to continue on with my plan to sleep it off. I didn't get the woman's name but I guess I didn't need it. I prayed for her and Joey. I also thanked
God for giving me the spirit to see through my own pain to help someone else through theirs. Traci H.
If you want others to be happy, show compassion. If you want to be happy, show compassion. -RevRun
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