The Beauty of a Phone Call

Due to the nature of this post, I will probably say something cheesy, pathetic, sad, embarrassing, or all of the above. You have been warned. Last Sunday was Mother's Day. Mothers are great. But I was excited for a completely different reason. I was excited because it was the day I got to speak to Mary, my French missionary. Mary left to serve in the Geneva Switzerland Mission on May 9th of 2007. Therefore, she has been gone just over a year and will be returning home this November. Often I feel like time is standing still and it drives me crazy. For a brief period last Sunday, time stood still, and I loved it. I wanted it to stay like that. Talking to Mary was among the very top things I have done this whole last year. While speaking with my sister-in-law Krista about it, I mentioned that there was only one word I could think of that would accurately describe the conversation we had. That word is tender. It was a tender conversation. When I had thought about what it would be like to talk to her after all of this time, and I expected something different. Honestly, I expected a soldier-like attitude. I expected her to be maybe a little closed off and possibly not wanting to talk all that much. I should've known better. I have been there. What I got was something so special that I have recorded it in several different places and spoken about it with many people. What I got was a sweet, humble, completely solid spiritual rock. The first thing she did when it was my turn to talk was say, "Can I tell you a story first?" It really took me by surprise and then she told me a story about something that I had said in a previous letter or email that helped her help someone else. Then at the end of her story, she said something that stuck with me more than anything else I think. She softly, gently, and sincerely said, "Thank you." I could tell she was smiling. I could tell she was really truly grateful. She was just so soft, and it was so impressive to me. I love her like crazy. I didn't think she had anything to improve on. I still don't know that she does, but she did say that she appreciates my mission stories more. Now that she is a missionary and has lived through the many experiences that happen to missionaries, she is more appreciative of others' experiences, namely mine. I remember telling her stories before and she would say things like, "Oh, that's great..." as if she didn't really know what else to say, but now it's different. Anyways, there are a hundred things I could talk about with regards to Sister Shep, but I won't. I just know that hearing her voice brought her back for me again. It made her real again. It also made me realize that I've only got six months to get rich...