Perspective

My sister called me at work day before yesterday. She's so funny because I can tell when she calls specifically to tell me something. It's always at a random time (while I'm at work), and even though she really wants to tell me what she's called about, she goes through the calling ritual first:

Stacy: Are you busy?
Me: No, I can talk for a few minutes.
Stacy: So, how are you?
Me: Fine...Are things good there?
Stacy: Yeah, things are good here. Do you know anything?
Me: No, not anything interesting. What about you?
Stacy: Yes, let me tell you what happened.

I love you, Stacy, but you know it's true. :)

Anyway, she starts telling me about a situation she encountered this week. I'm sorry, this may sound a little vague, but I can't give specifics. You'll get the idea, though.

A call was placed to a church (an AG church, by the way), and when the receiver picked up and said, "First Assembly," the caller began the reason for the call.

Interrupting the caller, the recipient said, "I'm sorry, but this is a business, I don't have time for this call." And hung up.

The caller called back. After getting the same "First Assembly" answer, the caller said, "Please do not hang up, this is not a marketing call. This is a church, right?" (Referring to the "this is a business" remark.)

"Well, yes."

"Okay, well I am calling on behalf of...."

"I'm sorry, but I am busy and do not have time for this call." Hung up again.

Three times this happened with the same outcome.

Here's the thing:
The caller has special needs and had to have assistance in making the call. Granted, the call, in reality, was a benevolence call to the church, and I don't know how many calls they may have received from this caller, which could account for the "busy-ness" of the recipient.

But for the one who assisted in the call...this one who grew up in a pastor's home and answered the door as well as the phone to many benevolence calls, handed them over to her dad and watched as he repectfully took care of the situation, whether it be by taking them to get gas or buy them groceries or even watching them walk away because they couldn't get cash...this one who knows God but doesn't really attend a church outside of her parents' because of the "Christians" who have the "right" to say things "in love" that are not lovely at all, but hurtful, and only serve to make themselves look better...this one who hears these three phone calls and wonders whatever happened to serving "the least of these"?...this one who wonders when the church became a business...this one was probably the one most affected by this call.

This one needed to hear compassion on the end of the line, even if they were unable to help. This one needed to witness someone taking the time to pray for an answer even if it meant a pause for one minute in going about the Father's business.

The Father's business.

This one needs us to have our priorities straight.