A friend Indeed
Ms Betty is my spiritual mom who listens to my hardships and gives me advice. I trust her and hold dearly her words of wisdom.
Such as when she says “I’d rather cry for 2 months than to cry for 20 years.”
This statement reveals the need to leave a painful relationships sooner rather than later.
Or, her repeating the words of a woman involved with a selfish man. The woman laments, “If I’m loving you and you’re loving you, then whose loving me?”
Even more, her sharing details about her beloved husband’s death, when her ride or die buddies were missing in action; instead, people she least expected showed up to comfort her.
Typically, Ms. Betty and I exchange wisdom and stories. We laugh, sooth our hurting hearts, and bestow well wishes on one another. Initially, Ms. Betty earned the title of “shop mom,” and she got her hair styled weekly in my hair salon, but for the last 6 years, we only spoke over the phone.
She picks up the phone when I call or calls me right back and vice versa. But, this pattern came to a halt when she no longer answered my calls or texts.
I assured myself thinking, Oh Ms. Betty is not responding because she doesn’t recognize my new number. So, I texted her urging her to pick up, clarifying that it’s me- Wanda. Still…no response! I repeated the pattern. The calls- the texts- the reassurance. Still -no return call.
Reoccurring Theme
In order for you to understand the magnitude of this experience for me, I must share a reoccurring theme in my life- rejection. A barrage of thoughts followed.
Here we go again. For no apparent reason, I’m being ignored.Did I offend Ms. Betty in some way? Did she finally get tired of my extended family drama? Why is it that people don’t value me as much as I value them? Maybe she is really sick? I need to search old phones and contact books for Ms. Joan’s number to see if she can help me reach Ms. Betty. Ms. Joan is a friend of Ms. Betty
My Reaction
Rejection was so much a part of my life that I followed my norm. With a hurting heart, I suppressed my thoughts of the friendship. Because she was a rock in my life and due to the love I have for her, I decided I would continue to pray for Ms. Betty. I also prayed for Mrs. Joan because she’d sent me spiritual cd’s and passages over the last 20 years.
Devine Intervention
Inwardly, however, I had a heavy heart. Then, the most amazing thing happened. Remember I never saw Ms. Betty in person. Six months after I lost contact with her, I was in Publix when I heard a wonderful whisper, “Wanda.” I knew that voice! Slowly I turned around and close to tears I sighed, “Ms. Betty I’ve been calling and texting you for months.”
She interrupted saying, “Wanda I’ve been texting and calling you. I said to myself why is Wanda mad . Why is she not returning my calls? I told Andrea (Andrea is her daughter) isn’t it Wanda’s birthday? “Wanda I just sent you a birthday text a few days ago.” She scanned through her text showing me the birthday text she recently sent. I assured Ms. Betty that I love her and Ms. Joan and would never ignore her.
We shuffled to a space in the store out of the way of customers and continued catching up. Investigating the problem at hand, the weirdest thing happened; I called and texted her from my new phone and her phone did not ring. Verifying I called the right number, I repeated the process; again, her phone was silent. We both realized for 6 months all the calls and text I’d placed did not transmit.
On the other hand, her calls to me on my new phone did transmit. But, in the past she called my previous phone, a phone I was no longer using for economical reasons.
The Lesson Learned
Revelation 12:10 says, “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of the brother is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night ” (King James Version). Basically, through accusations satan tries to disrupt/ sabotage our relationships, especially our Godly relationships.
First, there is no reasonable explanation for my phone not dialing Ms. Betty, especially when I was using the correct number. On my end, the calls and texts appeared to go through. In reality, Ms. Betty and I assumed the worse about the situation; in our hearts, we accused each other of being mad even though there was no evidence to support this conclusion.
We were deceived but our God stepped in and bridged the gulf between us. The Lord orchestrated a heavenly appointment.