The Call

My husband and I have lived in an apartment and three houses during our married life.
Each place got a little bigger than the one before.
Each place did not get bigger for ostentatious reasons.
Each place got bigger out of necessity as our family grew.

Our apartment was close to where my husband worked.
However, when a new plant opened, he was one of the start-up engineers there.
We moved so that he could be closer to the plant.
A four-lane state road ran behind our development.

I loved our first house and quickly made it our home.
However, we never got used to the sound of the traffic.
A line of trees blocked the view of the state road.
The line of trees did nothing for the noise.

We were a young couple with two little girls at the time.
My husband had to occasionally work late at the plant during the start-up.
Our safety was his biggest concern.
It was the state road behind us that presented a problem.

The line of trees had been planted behind the development to block the view of the road.
Some of those trees were missing along the back edge of our property.
The previous owners had removed them.
The state road was down an embankment; it could be heard, but it was not seen.

One day, there was a knock on our front door.
It was a Saturday afternoon and my husband was home.
I answered the door and someone I did not know was standing in front of me.
My husband heard the male voice and came up behind me.

I was wondering if I could use your phone? the man asked earnestly.
My car broke down on the road and I need to call someone.
My husband opened the door for him to come inside and pointed towards the kitchen.
The phone was on the wall.

This was in the years before cell phones.
It was perfectly understandable that someone would need to use a phone to call for help.
The man was very nice and extremely grateful.
As quick as he came to our door, he was gone.

That same scenario happened quite often.
Someone would inevitably break down on the state road.
They would climb the embankment behind our house since there were no trees there.
My husband was getting concerned.

He knew that there were days when he would be working late.
He knew that he needed to go away for some training.
He did not want me or our daughters to have to deal with strangers at our door.
He wanted to be able to help but he wanted his wife and daughters to be safe.

One Saturday afternoon, he went to the hardware store.
He came back with two bags in his hand.
I looked at him questioningly.
I know how to solve the problem, he said.

What problem? I asked not knowing what he meant.
The problem of people coming to the door when they break down on the road, he answered.
He went outside to the small porch that was near our front door.
He moved the country bench that was there.

I heard him working but did not go out while he was in the middle of his project.
He came in as I was finishing making lunch.
Problem solved, he said as he handed me something.
I looked down and it was a phone, the size of a brick.

He brought me outside while the girls watched from inside the door.
He showed me what he had installed on the wall.
It was a phone jack.
He looked very proud of himself.

Now if someone knocks on the door to use the phone we don’t have to turn them away.
We never turn them away, I said to him confused.
If I’m not here, I do not want you letting people in the house if you don’t know them.
This way, you can tell them to wait, close the door over, and get the phone out of the closet.

I have to admit I felt a bit relieved.
We did not want to turn people away who were asking for help.
We did have our little girls to consider.
I was grateful for his solution.

People continued to knock on the door and we always handed them the phone.
I would point to the phone jack and tell them to plug the phone in to make their call.
I asked them to leave the phone on the bench when they were done.
It was a wonderful solution that benefited everyone.

Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know. (Jeremiah 33:3)

We never have to worry about calling on our Heavenly Father for help.
We never need to plug in a phone the size of a brick.
We never need to be concerned with the time of day.
We never need to fear that He is too busy to listen to us.

The ears of our Heavenly Father are always tuned to our cry.
Our Heavenly Father is willing and able to listen to the cries of His children.
There is never a busy signal.
We never get an answering machine that requires us to leave a message.

Our Father in heaven is always there.
Our Father in heaven is always listening.
Our Father in heaven is always paying attention.
Our Father in heaven is always ready to answer.

The problem is with us.
We, like the travelers on the state road, can sit there, broken down and without help.
Or we can reach out to the One who can help us and who understands.
We can call on the One who will answer.

Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue.
Prayer is talking to our Heavenly Father and listening to Him as well.
Prayer is continuous; it is something that can be done anytime and anywhere.
Prayer is our lifeline; it is our connection to a Holy God who hears His children.