“Not even one phone call”
That is terrible... Couple times in our lives we “found out how our friends really are” like that. My wife and I can only count three true friends throughout our lifetime. We quit wasting time on those who are not and our lives got a whole lot simpler.
“Not even one phone call”
“That is terrible”
I know. It was quite the eye opener, after having been raised in a parsonage where Mom and Dad had the pulse of everything that was going on. They knew who was sick and spent time with them. Mom managed the prayer chain. They saw that meals were delivered daily, and they (meaning “we”) took care of the children whose parents were sick. If you attended the church — not even necessarily a member — you were important. Churches had a heart.
I recall how I met my best friend when we were three years old. This was 1951, south of Buffalo. One day, a knock came on our front door, and a pathetic couple were standing there asking for help. Their newborn had just died. They wanted to bury the baby down in PA in the family cemetery, but had no money to make the trip and no dependable car.
Poor country preacher, Dad had no money, either, but he and Mom packed up that family and drove them, including the deceased baby, down to PA to be buried. We didn’t know them; they didn’t know us. It’s what Christians did. A bond was formed and they became one of the stalwart families of the church. Their daughter became my best friend, and still is.
I don’t know if it’s a sign of the times in general, or this particular church. I just expected better from Bible Belt TN churches.