About two years ago, I was sitting in a network marketing conference with my friend, Jennifer. We had been sitting there chatting after dinner waiting for the night to begin as smiling women trickled in and found their seats, excited to learn more about growing their business. We were seated smack-dab in the middle—not so close to the front that we’d be busted if we fell asleep, and not so close to the back that we couldn’t hear. The middle. pray
We were small talking, when suddenly she got a text on her phone, looked at me and said, ‘Hang on one second.’ Then she paused, closed her eyes, and bowed her head.
Concerned and slightly confused, I asked her if everything was okay. If someone was sick or hurt. If she needed to leave. If there was some kind of emergency.
I really had no idea what was going on. What did I just witness? Should I ignore it and act like nothing just happened? Should I hug her? Seriously… what am I supposed to do here? I’m not known for being especially smooth in any situation so this one really threw me.
Because let’s be honest, that’s odd behavior.
‘Oh yeah, everything is fine. My friend is just going through a hard time, and I told her I would pray for her. Anytime I tell someone I’ll pray for them; I stop and do it right then no matter what.’
It was so simple, and something I’ve been taught to do my entire life, but to see an adult actually commit to it in public was eye-opening, beautiful even.
It changed me.
We’re humans. And we get human-y. We get scattered, and sloppy, and forgetful. No on purpose, we just do. We start off going down one path, and by the time we’re done, we’ve traveled a million different roads and crossed the finish line to none of them.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to forget something that important. I don’t want to unintentionally lie to someone I care about. I don’t want to break any promise, but especially a promise that means as much as prayer.
And why wait? What’s the purpose in that?
I want my friends to know they can depend on me, and trust me, and rely on me. I want my friends to know I am a woman of my word.
It will go down in history straight into the file of ‘seemingly insignificant moments that made a dynamic impact on my life.’
Because now, because of Jennifer, that’s what I do. When I say I’ll pray for something, I stop, and I do it right then before I have the chance to get all human-y and forget.
I’m really thankful she’s a woman with that kind of integrity, and I’m really thankful she passed it onto me that night. I thought maybe you could use it too, cause that’s what we do in a solid sisterhood—we share with each other and help each other grow.
