I was deep in slumber when the phone beside my bed rang. I picked it up instantly, as alert as I could be when awakened like that. An emergency? One of our children or grandchildren suddenly rushed to the hospital? A friend with urgent problems? A death? All this rushed through my mind as I answered.
“Hello.”
“Hello. This is Bill.”
“Bill?”
“Bill from Wednesday nights.”
I looked at my bedside clock. 4 a.m. Bill is one of our regulars at the Bread of Life Café, the weekly free dinner at Central Church.
“What can I do for you, Bill?”
Steve said, “Who is it?” and when I told him he relaxed.
“Well, my neck is hurting.”
“I’m sorry, Bill. How can I help you?”
“Well, I don’t know, but the pain starts at the top of my neck and goes down.”
“Maybe you should call 911.”
“No, I don’t think it’s that bad. By the way, I’m surprised you’re up at this hour.”
“I’m not up, Bill. I’m still in bed.”
“But you answered on the first ring.”
“Yes, I woke up to answer the phone. It’s right by my bed.”
Bill continued to chat as though we were sitting together at the dinner table as we did last Wednesday. Finally, I said, “Bill, it’s 4 in the morning and I need to get back to sleep.”
“Oh, okay,” he said. “Talk to you later.”
Steve has laughed about this ever since. Fortunately, I was able to get right back to sleep. Steve lay in bed another few minutes and gave up. He got up and worked on his sermon. But Bill won’t be there to hear it because he only comes on Wednesdays.
So my question that I hope to ask him next Wednesday is this: Was I especially chosen for his call, or was I simply one on a list of people with whom he shared his pain at that hour of the morning?
Good Ol’ Bill
