| Proverbs 18:24- “Some friends are fun to be with. But a close friend can be even better than a brother.” |
Last night, our church did something out of our ordinary routine. Those who came were given choices of several home bound members who agreed to be visited. Not everyone is up for a home invasion by people they may not know so well.
We chose a widower, Al. He is in his nineties. His wife has been gone nearly 3 years. Three of us went. Kevin, my wife and I. Al had his Christmas tree up. My wife: “Who set up your tree?” He had set it up himself. We were impressed. He is an electrical engineer and began his career in 1957 with Texas Instruments and later Levi Strauss (developing semi-automatic sewing machines). He met his wife at Preston Road church. He enjoys war movies. He told us his favorite is Midway (with actual black and white battle footage inserted). He had some nice framed photos on the wall that he took himself. I learned all this last night. I have seen Al at church for 35 years. I spoke to his wife many times and said “Hi” to him often, but had never had a conversation with him until last night. He is a quiet, reserved man, with such an interesting story. I was sorry it had taken me so long to get to this point.
There is a line in the poem “Desiderata”. “Listen to others…they too have their story.” There is a world of interesting people just beyond the point where my nose ends. They have their story.
Father in heaven, help me to listen and be curious about other souls, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
– Jeff Beall
