"We most likely will never meet again," he told me.
"Yes, but I'll see you in my prayers." I said.
It takes so very little to create great feelings of joy and happiness
in someones life. Sometimes it is a simple act. More often it lies
within the words that we say.
You don't have to be a professional speaker to say just the right thing.
I meet many wonderful people in my work. Some I have the privilege
to meet face to face. Many I see in person but only as I scan the
audience I am speaking with.
Then there's you. You are one of those I call "friends I've never met."
I am overwhelmed with the thought that I get to touch the lives of so
many. But I am telling you that you have the same opportunity
everyday.
Jack was an average looking man sitting in the middle of the portrait
of faces I saw that day as I walked across the stage sharing my soul.
But, after the talk I was blessed with the chance to meet and greet
many who wanted to share a word with me. Frankly, it is both the
most exciting part for me and the most embarrassing. I love meeting
people, but find myself very uncomfortable with the extremely
generous comments they share.
Everyone I meet instantly becomes a part of who I am and through
either a form of osmosis or evolution, I become more than I was before.
Jack had that look on his face that told me well in advance that he
had some major challenges in his life. As I spoke with others I
could see him advancing in the line. In my mind I predicted that he
would be what I call a "hello and run" person. They want to speak,
perhaps share what's in their heart, but find the crowded situation
uncomfortable.
"I just wanted to say, I really needed to hear this today and you spoke directly to me," he said.
"So you were the one?" I replied.
Confused, he stood looking at me still shaking my hand.
"I believe we were supposed to meet, my friend. I always speak with
just one person in mind. You were the one."
Still standing there, still shaking my hand, he looked as though I
had confirmed what he just said.
"You have some major challenges in your life. Whatever they are, you
will not only rise above them, but you will become more because of it
all. Just as I have become more because I met you."
"We most likely will never meet again," he told me.
"Yes, but I'll see you in my prayers." I said.
That was the first time I ever said those words. It was the gift he
gave me that day. Because, had he not taken the time to say "hello"
I would not have created the idea of "seeing someone in my prayers."
I have remembered someone, said a prayer for someone, but to
say "I'll see you in my prayers," became a powerful tool for me.
It said to him "I will not forget you!" and he believed it.
My words chosen carefully made a difference and we both benefited
from it.
A few months later Jack wrote to tell me that at the time we met, he
had just finalized his divorce, lost his home, his family moved away
and he was told he had cancer.
The last time I heard from him, he found his "soul mate," finished
cancer treatment and moved to where his children lived.
"Life is good for me again, " he wrote in that email to me. "I hope
to see you again someday."
"Tonight," I replied. "I'll see you in my prayers."
"I believe in you!"
Bob Perks
words of a friend.
words of a stranger.
sometimes it is just about the words.
welcome to coffee hour.
welcome to this Sunday morning.
just BE.
robin.
