Answered Prayers
Jeanette Sharp
On a busy late Friday afternoon at my salon in Tulsa, Sandy the receptionist approached my station. "Emily Childers is on the phone. She needs help." I gave her the nod and she rolled her eyes. "You're a glutton for punishment."
We both knew that call meant an additional two and a half hours added to my workday. Most hairdressers have clients for whom they extend themselves, and Emily was one of mine.
Later, my assistant escorted Emily to the dressing room while I finished a client. She gave me a quick hug as she walked past, and I could see the need as her gray roots with faded honey-blond ends shouted for attention. Soon chattering voices, the ping of timers, whirring blow dryers all faded as the day's busyness waned and the remaining clients filtered out, leaving Emily and me alone.
I loved visiting with Emily. We always shared our faith and talked God-talk. About ten years my senior, her thoughts that late afternoon meandered down memory lane as she recounted the touching story of a dear friendship from past years.
Emily and Pat's lives had intertwined in a number of ways. Both were pregnant, Emily with her first child and Pat with her third. They attended First Baptist Church, sang in the choir, and belonged to the same women's Bible study.
After their Bible study ended one hot summer day in August, the two lingered to chat before heading home. Pat seemed to hold on to their parting moments as she gave Emily a farewell hug. Emily headed for home, but Pat had an errand to run.
"I was standing at the kitchen sink peeling potatoes when I heard the distant scream of an ambulance. An eerie feeling came over me," Emily said. "Later, our pastor phoned. The siren was for Pat.
"At the hospital, I found many friends and family gathered from the church. I learned Pat's car had stalled on the railroad tracks and an oncoming train broadsided her.
"The first person on the scene was a man who witnessed the accident and ran over to help. When he searched for identification, he found her Bible and church bulletin in the wreckage. He phoned our pastor immediately.
"We all sat in disbelief," Emily said. "Yet the most amazing story came from the ambulance attendant who recalled what took place during the transport to the hospital.
"He told us Pat faded in and out of consciousness, but he saw her lips moving as if she were trying to say something. Bending near, he heard her struggling to whisper a prayer, 'Please God, send a Christian to raise my children and be a good wife to my husband.'
"Pat lost her life that day, and I lost my best friend," Emily concluded.
A glance at the large round clock on the wall reminded me of the lateness of the hour.
The cut hair on the floor, the used tint bowl and brushes in the sink would have to wait. I retrieved my keys and purse from the office, stuffed in the day's receipts, switched off the lights, and Emily and I left the salon. It had been a long day with a somber ending.
The previous night's clutter greeted me when I arrived at the salon the next morning. My thoughts were drawn to Emily's touching story as I began to clean up. The previous night's sad mood seemed to linger in the air like a mist.
Olivia's early arrival interrupted my cleaning efforts. As my first client of the day, her bedraggled appearance, crowned with straggling, dark brown hair, begged for a perm and cut. I paused to check her in, and continued with the clean-up. In making conversation, I related last night's moving story to her.
A shy, pleasant Christian woman, she had shared only glimpses of her own life story in past appointments. Her world revolved around her husband and two children. When I neared the end of Emily's story, I noticed a decided change in Olivia's demeanor. Her smile had disappeared. Tears, mingled with black mascara, trickled down her rosy cheeks. I handed her a box of Kleenex and apologized for anything I might have said to distress her.
She wiped her eyes and collected her emotions. "I've never heard the part about the prayer before. You see, I married her husband and raised her children."
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