1 of 2

Have you ever invited someone for supper and then wished you hadn't? More than ten years ago, I answered a knock on my front door one Sunday evening to find A.K. (A.K. because he doesn't want anyone to know his name is Archie Kenneth) on my doorstep. Clean-shaven, sporting a red-and-black plaid shirt tucked neatly into freshly pressed khakis, and smelling of Aramis cologne, he held a package of hamburger buns in his hand.

"I need to talk to you," he said, pushing his way into the front hall. "I have something to say. If you don't like it, all you have to do is tell me to leave, and I'll never bother you again."

He dropped the buns on the hall table, squared his chin and said, "I think I love you."

The next few moments blurred as thoughts whirled through my head. I had been a widow for two-and-a-half years after having been married for 30 years to the only other man in my life.

I was 16 when we married; Bill was 30. For most of those years I never bought groceries, paid a utility bill, or went anyplace by myself. I was loved, protected, and cherished, but I had to ask for and account for every penny I spent and then give back the change.

Bill took care of our business. But except for our financial disagreements, every day of our 30-year union was sunshine, security, and love.

Then one day, I came home from work to find a note on the kitchen table: "Gone fishing. Be home for supper. Get the skillet ready." But he didn't come home. He drowned.

How that happened, I'll never know. But I do know that for the next two years, every day was a shadow and every night a nightmare.

Then, one Saturday morning in early spring, I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink and watching bluejays test the branches of the non-bearing mulberry in my back yard. From out of nowhere came the thought: This day is beautiful, Father. Thank you! I'm glad to be alive. At that moment, I began to heal.

Ten months earlier, A.K.'s wife, a good friend of mine, had died. I had checked on him and had taken food a time or two to "do my thing" to help him through the aftermath of death. Now that I was alive again, however, I wanted to encourage him, to assure him that "This, too, will pass away." So I stepped up my baking and taking.

It wasn't long before this 49-year-old Good Samaritan became a silly, lovesick teenager. Whatever food A.K. mentioned he liked, I cooked it and took it. I went to him for help and advice—help in mending a chair I never sat in, advice for pricing my house for sale when I knew I would never have the courage to move away and start over. I kept a list of topics by the phone so that when he called me or I called him I wouldn't stammer around, trying to keep him on the line.

next page... |  1 of 2

	What did you think of this story?
	Please to give us your feedback.

Home  |  People of Faith  |  Stories of Hope  |  Today's Culture
Build Your Faith  |  Laughing Matters  |  Archives  |  Contact Us

				Try 3 Issues of Christianity Today Free! Name Street Address City/State/Zip E-mail Address Subscribe to Christianity Today and get 3 free trial issues. No credit card required. Please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery. Offer valid in U.S. only. If you decide you want to keep Christianity Today coming, honor your invoice for just $19.95 and receive nine more issues, a full year in all. If not, simply write "cancel" across the invoice and return it. The three trial issues are yours to keep, regardless. Give Christianity Today as a gift Order a gift subscription!