An Incredible Offer

An Incredible Offer

They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do. 2 Corinthians 8:5

One of the many losses for me as a single mom has been the lack of a sounding board when I’m facing a tough decision. When I was first thrust into widowhood, one of the married business instructors with whom I taught suggestively invited me to dinner after I’d asked his advice about my new responsibility of balancing the checkbook. Startled at his invitation, I muttered, “I don’t think that’s a good idea” and returned quickly to my empty classroom, where I sobbed as I thought of the new, scary world in which I found myself.

In the days that followed, I suddenly felt awkward talking to men I had worked with for years. And suddenly their wives seemed to be standing closer to them at social events, as if to say, “I just want to remind you he is mine.”

Often I wanted to say, “I just want to remind you that you don’t have to worry.”

My paranoia followed me into a new career, where it came face-to-face with the graciousness of Muriel Sandbo, a North Carolina woman. Her husband, Bob, was a member of the board for the New York organization at which I worked. She called me one day and said the Lord had placed me on her heart. Even though we hadn’t met, she was praying for me because she knew I was in the process of planning a cross-country move. Then she said the most remarkable thing: “I know it must be difficult for a single mom not to have someone to run ideas by, so if you need a man’s thinking on this, I hope you’ll talk to Bob. He’s very wise, so feel free to talk to him about the decisions you’re facing.”

I was astonished and most grateful. Even though I didn’t take advantage of the offer, it was an incredible gift. Her security in her husband’s love and her concern for someone who had once been a beloved wife came together in an encouraging gesture. —SANDRA

Lord, when I was married, I know I wouldn’t have made the same gracious offer Muriel did. Help me to get past my own insecurities and to encourage others in practical ways. And may your great love shine through even my little actions.

We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop there is at last a drop which makes it run over, so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over.

—SAMUEL JOHNSON (1709–1784), ENGLISH ESSAYIST, BIOGRAPHER, AND CRITIC