Dial Those Digits

I am a minister by profession, and I learned a life-changing lesson. Before you think, “Oh I’m done,” this mom is a minister, peace out, STOP.

This mom learned a lesson and I need to share.

As a minister by profession, I deal with people, primarily children and their parents, but I love people, they are my jam. For over 25 years, I have been involved in helping, praying and serving people. My church community is important to me.

Technology has changed things. Early in my career, I would call for volunteers, call to check on a mom with a new baby, call and set up a food chain or call to start a prayer chain. Now, however, those “calls” can be made electronically. I have replaced the talking to people with emails, texts and Facebook messages. It is very efficient, and I can multi-task and check things off my to-do list quickly and quite honestly, it has become the new normal in my job.

When the pandemic hit Ohio, schools were closed, along with restaurants, our library, and we were encouraged to work from home. 

I work with a great team of people at our church, and we all communicated and set off to make this work when my boss, our lead pastor told us he was going to divide up the list of our members and wanted us to call them and check in on them to see if they were alright and ask them if they needed anything and what we could be praying about for them.

My mind was racing, I thought, one email and I would have this knocked out in 3 minutes, but we were told to call. I took my list and began dialing the digits.

The first call was to my friend that I call frequently, we talked and I asked how she and her family were getting along in this trying time, we talked and call one done. As my afternoon went on and I made call after call, I couldn’t believe the blessing after blessing from call after call.

There were older people who I called, that I made sure had what they needed, we talked and laughed about toilet paper and how they had never seen anything like this in their 70 or 80 years.

There were fellow moms I called, that were concerned about running out of groceries and how they were going to get everything done, with work and schooling their children.

There were moms I called that were struggling in their marriage and this pandemic was making things even more tense.

There was the call to one mom who asked what she could do to help others – could she deliver groceries, could she help in any way?

Another mom had the flu and was looking for bottled water, and yet another member of our church needed medicine, and another member offered to go get it for her, and just like that these conversations and dialing of digits were life-giving.

I had one of those light bulb moments: Why have we quit dialing digits and TALKING to people? 

In a day of social distancing, I had never felt so connected to the members of my church.  Some people I talk to, but so many that I just say “Hi” to on a Sunday morning and go on with my day. As my first day of calling came to an end, I realized the immense power of dialing the digits and real communication that can’t even be compared to a text or an email or a Facebook message.

I now know the needs of my church family, and those who can meet those needs – such a powerful network. I know how I can be praying for those I called, what anxieties that they may be feeling and how they are coping with our new day-to-day. You can learn the facts in an email or a text, but the power that is unleashed when you dial those digits is tremendous.

WE need human interaction, we need that connection, we need that human element. I’m so thankful for the lesson in dialing the phone and listening to the person on the other end and sharing.

Who can you call today? Dial those digits. Go ahead check on them, ask them how you can help them, what you can do, listen and learn from them. WE need each other.