Building Zion – Part 3

At this point in the story, my Parents had returned from Mexico, and my mother had a special diet she needed to follow.  She also had five kids again.  And a house that needed “assistance”.  And, she was sick.  Like .. stuck on the couch all day sick.  My mother’s needs were great.  She simply could not bear it alone.

“Ann” was new to the area.  She and her husband had only been stationed near us for a few months at this point.  They were newly-weds, and his position took him away for days or weeks at a time.  They had no family in the area, and knew basically no one except people they met at church.

Ann was struggling with insurmountable loneliness. Her needs were great. She had casual acquaintances, and budding friendships, but she needed significantly more than casual interactions with friendly people.  Ann needed someone who could listen to her as she unloaded the struggles of her heart.  She needed someone with time.  Someone who could spend hours every day just being there to talk to.  But she didn’t want to impose.  And … time is valuable, and people are busy, with .. life.

Thankfully, Ann lived across the street, and the two of them figured out that together this was possible.   Mom had time to sit there and listen and be good company.  And Ann had the time and energy to help mom follow her new diet, and otherwise improve our living conditions.  On the other hand, by simply being there and listening, Mom made this new chapter in Ann’s life bearable.  This arrangement met both of their needs, and created a genuine friendship that might never have existed.  Not only was the burden now bearable, but their lives were more meaningful and enriching.

Decades later, I ran into Ann.  Neither of us knew who the other was.   Casual conversation revealed that at one point we had lived on the same street.  She soon she realized that I was one of the children in “that family who lived across the street”, she then told me that by listening and caring about her for those few months, my Mother may have saved her marriage simply by being a true friend while her husband was away.  They went on to have a marriage that has lasted for 30+ years and counting.  And her (now adult) children may have never been born.    Her life could easily have been very different.   My mother, who some may have thought had enough on her hands, and had practically nothing left to give, actually had just what was needed.

And that ends the third chapter in this story.  So, stay tuned for Part 4.