I went to a funeral today. We were in Hempstead, a place that we lived from 1997-2004. We raised our kids there. We became a part of the community. I had different jobs while we lived there and I grew a lot. Kyle was the student minister at First Baptist Church for 7 years. It was a time we cherish.
Back to the funeral. After the service was over, a lady approached me. She said "Oh my goodness, I was just talking about you two days ago!". I will be honest...she looked familiar, but I did not know who she was. I did the best I could to hide this fact and allowed her to continue. She went on to say that she had been sharing a story with someone earlier just this week about a time that I called her. She said "When you told me that my sister had CANCER, I was just crushed." This was helping me narrow down the circumstances of my involvement with her...must have been while I worked at the Brenham Clinic. She went on to say that the thing that stood out most to her about that call was that she had been so upset that I actually interrupted her to ask "Ma'am, may I just pray with you right now?". She said that that prayer helped her focus on what was important and to realize that God was in control. Her sister is doing well, now 12+ years later. She was so thankful, she said, that I was there for her when she needed me most. I was very humbled by her sweet words!
You know the part of this story that puzzles me? I don't remember it. I don't remember comforting her. I dont' remember praying for her. I don't specifically remember her sister even coming into the office where I worked at the time. I talked to Kyle about it as we left the church. I could not understand why the events didn't stick in my mind, when they were so vividly engrained in hers. After thinking about it for a while, though, I came to this conclusion: Our ministry to others should be such a natural and normal part of our daily lives that we won't remember each specific time God uses us. Bottom line is, I don't have to remember it. She does, God does, and I was obedient when He asked me to be. It was all in a day's work, I guess.
