An Old Address Book

 Becky was spending first Christmas alone when she found her old address book. Full of old friends and neighbors, her address book was a reminder of days gone by. But, in a moment of thoughtfulness, she decided to call each number one by one.

"Hello, my name is Becky; could you use a prayer or someone to talk to?" she asked the unsuspecting person on the other line.

Of course, most didn't answer. Some did, and in an awkward moment, blurt out "No...thanks," before hanging up on her.

But Becky persisted. She went through every single number in her address book, until, when nearly to the end, she finally got through to someone.

"Good day, my name is Becky. Could you use a prayer or someone to talk to?"

"Who are you?" a shaky voice on the other side spoke.

"Becky... my name is Becky, darling; I used to have a friend by the name of Angela who had your phone number. Can I pray for you?" Becky could hear the heavy breathing of the girl on the other end.

"I... I guess, yeah."

"Dear, what's going on? What do you want me to pray for you?"

"I ran away from home. I don't really know what to do. I wasn't prepared for anything, and I don't even have a job. I'm scared to go back to my parents."

"What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Leila," the girl said with a heavy sigh.

"Oh, Leila, I'm so sorry for what's going on. It sounds like a very difficult situation. Sometimes we do things out of fear, and sometimes we don't know what to do, but I can promise you this," Becky said convicted and passionately, "God has a plan even if we don't know what it is."

"I wish I could believe that, but I don't really believe in your god," Leila said with a tone of skepticism. 

"Now what makes you think that you know my god enough to know you don't believe in Him?" 

Leila stopped to think about the question. What? That was a strange response, she thought, but also one of wisdom she supposed; wouldn't she have to know the god to know she doesn't believe in it? Or could one simply not believe in something because they never knew of it? This was weird.

"Are you still there, Leila?"

"Yes, I'm still here... I just don't really know how to answer that question. I mean, plenty of people don't believe in things and they never had to know about those things - like unicorns and goblins."

"I suppose you're right, Leila. But then I must wonder, if you don't believe in my God, then why would you want me to pray for you? Wouldn't I just be speaking words to nobody then?"

Now Leila thought this was some kind of mind game and her face was becoming red as she grew frustrated. "Yeah I guess so, and if that's the case then don't pray for me. I'll just go now!"

"Wait, Leila, don't hang up - please - I just want to help you."

"How can you help me? You're probably thousands of miles away and can't do anything for me."

"That may be so, but even if you don't believe in my God, I believe in prayer. I used to be in a similar situation like you long ago. I was foolish and ran off with some boy, and one thing led to another - I messed my life up royally, and I also didn't really believe in any god at the time - though I may have thought I did - but somehow, through all my screw ups, God got me out of the dumb situations every time, and somehow I am here today. So, let me just say this - if you don't want me to pray for you over the phone, I won't. But I will pray for you, darling."

"Fine. You can pray for me. I'm sorry, I just felt like you were some crazy religious person trying to push their religion on me."

"Honey, pushing any religion on anyone never worked. God has to open our hearts to receive the truth before we will ever be able to open our eyes to see it and accept Him," Becky said sympathetically.

"Question: if pushing religion on others never works, then why do so many religious people do it?"

"That's a good question, and I can only speak out of my own experience for what it's worth, but I think sometimes people have such strong convictions they forget that God is the one who works in people's hearts, not the other way around. I think we get over zealous, wanting to share the truth we have found in Jesus, and we don't realize that we are pushing people away. But not all religious people are like that; some are just blessed with knowing how to handle different situations. Some people are just better at sharing their faith in a non-confrontational way. Yet, my God is confrontational. He will come right down at any filthy situation a person is in, get in their face and get ugly with them, because He takes it seriously. Not all gods are like that."

"Oh, right, well you can go ahead and pray for me now, I guess."

Becky took this conversation seriously, but she also took her prayer even more seriously. It wasn't a matter of praying what people wanted to hear, but praying what was God's will. For Becky, that meant that Leila find her way back to reconciliation with her family if at all possible. She didn't know what the details were in Leila's situation, but she knew that when she was young and ran off from her family, it was all for the wrong reasons, and even worse, she believed the lie that her parents didn't care. Becky didn't want Leila to make the same mistakes as she did when younger.

With that, Becky closed her eyes and began to pray a sincere prayer, "Dear Jesus, please be with Leila as she navigates this difficult situation. I ask that you would open her eyes to the truth, that You would keep her safe, and if it is Your will, that you would reunite her with her family in peace. You are the way maker, You are the Protector, and You are infinitely wise in everything; please bless Leila with knowing You and allowing her to find freedom through You. In Jesus' name, Amen."

Leila was silent for a moment. When Leila listened to the prayer, her heart seemed to stop racing, and a calm came over her. At first, she thought perhaps it was just a coincidence. But, the more she contemplated the prayer, she thought that maybe this god was real, and that He did care.

"Becky? That was your name, right?"

"Yes, dear."

"Thank you, Becky. It means a lot to me that you would pray for me," Leila started, and hesitated before adding rather quickly, "And for just taking the time to talk to me... Nobody's really talked to me like you have before."

"Of course, Leila. Anytime." Becky assumed the conversation was about to end and that she would be leaving Leila's situation completely in the hands of God - which she would be - but then was surprised by Leila's last words.

"Um, if it isn't too much to ask, can I have your number? Would you call me again sometime? I just would like to talk to you again in the near future." 

"Of course!" Becky replied in amazement, then gave her number to Leila. "I'll call you and check in on you in a little bit, if that's ok?"

"Yes, that sounds great. Thank you so much."

(TO BE CONTINUED)