My insight for the weekend was that in order to meaningfully serve people, you have to really know them. I long for opportunities to truly help people – to make a difference in their lives.
I can think of only one time in my life when I felt like I was a true friend – the kind of person you could call anytime (literally) and I would do anything to help a friend. I got a phone call at 2 AM one night – a heartbroken friend who just found out her full term, unborn baby had passed away. She asked if I would go watch her kids at home so her husband could use our vehicle to drive to the hospital and be with her. That was such a powerful experience for me – the fact that someone trusted me enough to call me in her moment of greatest need.
There are many people for whom I would do that, but I don’t think I have built the kind of relationship with them to be the person they would call. I want to change that.
Our church has a program called visiting teaching, where two women are assigned to visit two to four other women within the ward, or church congregation. I think the idea is great – just as Christ ministered to the one, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of one woman.
However, though the principle is there, the action is often not. In all my years of experience in the church, I have not yet had visiting teachers that, in a crisis, would be the first people I would call. I also don’t feel like I have been the type of visiting teacher that has the kind of friendship where the person I visit would feel comfortable calling me in that situation.
Something to work toward.
