Читать книгу Precious Memories - Lynn Stannard - Страница 6

Imagine pink and lavender rose print tablecloths covered over with intricate lace. Just about any woman would be drawn to this charming feminine tearoom. Appealing tasty lunches would be served on delicate china plates. Girlfriends would feel invited to a delightful, refreshing experience. This was the picture in my mind as these words just popped into my thoughts: “Call Connie, and invite her to lunch.”

It was a sunny Wednesday morning in Florida. My neighbor Connie’s husband had died several months before, and I wanted to encourage her. I didn’t know her very well, but we had been together a few times.

So I called Connie on the telephone. When I invited her out to lunch at the tearoom, she was quite pleased. “How about this Friday?” she asked. It worked for me. When she said she’d like to invite a couple more women, I agreed.

Connie called the women she had in mind and let me know that only one of the two was able to come. I thought of another neighbor in our senior community, who also had recently lost her husband. When I invited her, she said she would love to join us. I let Connie know, and she was pleased.

Friday arrived, and I headed out in my car to pick up the three women at their homes. On this warm and sunny day, we traveled about a half hour drive to our destination. When we arrived, we were seated at a table just like the one I had pictured two days before. Our conversation was friendly and warm. Our nicely presented lunches were delicious. As we finished, each one paid for her own lunch, generously tipping our waitress.

We stepped out the door and headed to the nearby gift shop. Inside, we wandered through, giggled at some greeting cards and bought a couple. At the bakery next door, we chatted with the owner and sampled some tiny cookies. Of course we purchased some for later.

All too soon, we were on our way home. We felt comfortable with each other as our conversation just seemed to flow. I dropped off one at her house, and then, a few minutes later, the second.

Lastly, as I drove Connie to her house, she said to me, “I want to thank you for inviting me for this lunch. You see, my husband passed away a year ago today.” Then she looked at her watch and added, “In fact it was right about this time, and I didn’t want to spend it alone. This was just what I needed.”

Amazed, I answered, “Oh, Connie. I didn’t realize that!”

The impact of her words came slowly. When the idea of taking her to lunch first came to my mind, I had hesitated. But I reached out as a friend anyway. While I drove home, I could see the tenderness of God expressing His gentle healing and comforting love for Connie as she spent that difficult day with some girlfriends, having lunch in a pretty tearoom.