I didn’t recognize the voice. The caller ID was blocked. No return number.
“You there?”
I said I was.
“You know, that ‘Write Me Your Heart’ stuff? You mean that?”
I said I do. Normally I am impatient with callers who don’t identify themselves. I showed remarkable restraint this time.
“No slam intended, but sometimes people who say stuff like this are just fishing for gossip or wanting to sell another ‘tell-all’ book that embarrasses people.”
I waited. I sipped some rich Columbian fresh from the pot. I’ve never gotten in trouble being quiet. I have been misquoted and had things I did say spun to mean things I did not say nor did I mean. But it’s a little harder for someone to listen to you say nothing and then lie right out of the gate. Yeah. Being quiet rocks.
“I’ve been reading your posts and I don’t get the idea you’re like that. But I felt like I needed to sort of, you know, set my mind at ease.”
“Have you?”
“Huh?”
“Set your mind at ease.”
“Oh! Well, yeah, I think so.”
“Good. I want you to go back to the 2nd Cup of Coffee homepage and reread what I wrote about why this blog exists at all. That should allay your fears. There needs to be a place where you can be honest, be real without being second-guessed or feeling threatened.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
I waited a second or two.
“Of course, you have to do your part.”
The caller got quiet.
“My part?”
“Mm-hmm. I need to know you’re not wasting my time by writing cheap sensationalism. I invest part of who and what I am in this blog. I intend to do the same with the books I write. I want to help anyone writing from their heart to heal, to get past those events and experiences. I have no time for games. I won’t put up with contrived garbage usually found on Facebook. The only way I’ll respond is if you’re being real and wanting somebody to care.”
Quiet again.
“Dang! You don’t mess around! I guess that’s fair, though. If my time’s valuable, so’s yours. And the stuff on my heart’s sensitive. I don’t want a lightweight messing with me. Had too much of that crap already.”
Quiet again for a couple of heartbeats. I could hear the bright, sharp call of a Cardinal outside.
“So-o-o, how do I write my heart to you?”
“You can send it by email to my best bud, Dan, at dan@2ndcupofcoffee.com, or earthdan@att.net. He sees that I get just what I need. Otherwise there’s too much to keep up with.”
” ‘Kay. Um, what do you do with it?”
“That depends on you. If it’s too close to you to want to share with anybody, even anonymously, I respect that. If you want me to respond with any feedback I’ll give you my best. Otherwise, I’ll just listen, stop right then and pray for that situation in your life, and I’ll delete it. It’ll stay between you and I.
“And if you feel it might not only apply to you but that others might benefit from it, I’ll take your thoughts and anonymously include them in a future post. 2nd Cup of Coffee is here to elevate, strengthen and encourage you and everyone else who reads it.”
I heard soft breathing as the unknown caller thought it over. Thought is a good thing. More thinking and less talking usually works better than the other way around.
“Hey, Granger? Lemme think about this some more, then I’ll be writing some of my heart to ya.”
Disconnect.
There’s a lot of those out there. Disconnects. I hope he doesn’t wait too long. Sometimes there is no next time, no time outs, no second or third or fourth chances. Sometimes ‘now’ is what there is. Sometimes, as Elvis once sang, “It’s now or never.”
If something’s weighing on your heart it’s probably a good idea to get it out and deal with it. The ‘all-the-time-in-the-world’ you keep thinking you have isn’t reality. Even if you don’t have your thoughts fully formed yet, don’t keep hanging onto what eats at and troubles you.
Sometimes God’s timing is a good thing to take advantage of. Sometimes He sees where you don’t. Sometimes He’s waiting on you to do what only you can do. God is incredibly patient.
Sometimes it’s not Him or other people holding you back from moving forward in your life. Sometimes it’s you.
Sometimes.
Loving you,
Dan
© June 2013