Your knuckles in the bread dough, the baby in the bathinette, or your crown of glory in the washbowl. And it rings! A telephone call to serve!
Young shepherdess, the very telephone ring that punctuates your day so liberally is more than just a telephone call. It is an opportunity for service.
True, it may be merely the dentist's secretary checking on an appointment, or it may be someone asking you to think in twenty seconds of a song often sung at weddings containing the word "love"—so that you can get a free photograph of a member of your family. But if you are a minister's wife, the chances are that the telephone call is going to demand much more of you than that.
How do you answer that call?
Think back on the telephone calls that you have made recently. How have you been answered? What has been your reaction to the quick, impatient "H'llo," or the helpful "This is __________ . Can we help you?" or the bored, laconic drawl of a "Hello-o-o"?
The man or woman at the other end of the wire has the power to make you feel like a nuisance, a joy, or a bore simply by the tone of voice he or she employs.
How do you make people feel when you lift the receiver and speak?
As God's representatives in the districts where we are serving, we must be sure even in answering the telephone to reflect the Spirit of the One who has called us.
Especially where there is no church office the telephone in the minister's home gets little rest. For a large part of the day the pastor is out, and it is the shepherdess who interrupts her routine to answer the calls that follow so speedily one after the other.
Do we look on the frequent ringing of the telephone as an interruption or as an opportunity to help? Our usefulness—and to a large extent, our personal happiness—depend on our attitude in this seemingly routine matter.
Home duties often prevent the shepherdess from doing all she would like to do in the church, but through the medium of the telephone she can perform a very valuable and acceptable service.
Let us check up and see whether we are giving good service.
First, let us always answer the telephone patiently. Even if this is the seventh time we've dragged ourselves up from the basement, where the weekly wash is under way, even if Junior is just off to sleep and we are afraid the bell will awaken him, even if we are lying down for a few minutes to ease that excruciating headache, we will answer it cheerfully, patiently, and politely.
Efficiency
Next, let us be efficient. Many steps and minutes can be saved by having the telephone installed in a strategic place. Choose the spot that is nearest to you most of the day. It may be worthwhile to have an extension installed, or jacks that enable you to take the telephone to two or more parts of the house.
Do we have everything at hand at the telephone—pencil and tablet for taking notes, telephone directory, church directory, a convenient place to write? A chair? And do we use these things? Even if we do pride ourselves on the excellence of our memories, let us not trust to them too much, but write down details of phone messages clearly, concisely, and accurately. And—just as important—let us be sure the message reaches its mark! Remembering tomorrow morning at breakfast that there was an emergency call tonight, can mean a priceless opportunity for soul winning lost. We should have a special place in which to park these messages—a place where the husband will look even though we may have gone to the store or already retired when he comes in. A magnetic bulletin board is ideal for this.
We should always make our identity known if the caller does not know who is answering the phone. If he wishes to speak to the pastor and he is not at home, he may wish to tell us the nature of his call. It may be that we can give him the necessary information. If he plans to call again, the pastor will be glad to know beforehand the reason for the call. He may be able to seek out the information needed, consult his appointment book, think or pray over a problem.
A Caution
A caution just here. Although there should always be in our voice and manner a friendliness and willingness to help that will encourage those who call to tell us who they are and what they want, yet we should remember that there is no quicker way to close the door to many soul-winning, counseling opportunities than for the minister's wife to insist on knowing who is calling and why. A timid soul in need who wishes to discuss a problem with the pastor is apt not to call the second time if she is greeted with an attitude of whatever-you-sayto-my-husband-you-say-to-me-first. Always we should hold ourselves ready to give friendly counsel when asked. We are not secretaries commissioned to deflect telephone calls from busy men. We are shepherdesses, ever holding open the door for the sheep. Let us never forget that the shepherdess must share the shepherd with the whole flock.
In all our friendliness we must be careful, of course, about giving information. We do not, for instance, give names and addresses and telephone numbers of church members indiscriminately.
And let us be honest, too. If we sense that postponement can cause no harm, and that the present moment is not convenient for a long chat over the wires, let us be quite frank and say, "Sister Blank, would it be just as convenient if I called you back in a few minutes? We are just having worship," or "I'm just getting Susan ready for school." Then let us be sure that we keep our word and do call back.
The need for genuine, sincere friendliness cannot be overestimated. Our love for the flock can be sensed along the telephone wires as easily as through a handshake in the church vestibule. So let our warmheartedness be felt in our tone of voice. If we feel friendly, we cannot help but sound friendly. But we must feel it. The pastor's wife who inwardly is annoyed by telephone interruptions will unconsciously convey that annoyance to others in her voice. The need is for a change of spirit, not a painting over of our inward feelings.
Our friendliness must often embrace patience. In every church there is at least one member who calls often and at length. Even if this call means that we won't be able to finish sewing the buttons on June's new dress or writing out the report we just got such a good idea for, this too is a call for service, and let us be good listeners. It may be that the caller is lonely. Our patient listening may send her on her way cheered to an extent that would surprise us.
Our response to the ring of the telephone need not be, "There it goes again!" or "What is it this time?" Instead it can be a silent prayer of thankfulness for these many opportunities to serve.
Last night it was a call for prayer for a baby at the point of death. This morning it was someone from the next city asking the pastor to give a talk. It may be a deaconess who has mislaid the new address of the member she wants to visit. It may be a mother whose dear one has been taken to the hospital. Or the printer to say the handbills are ready to be picked up. It could be Lucille, to say that Jim has left her again. Or the schoolteacher, to say that the furnace has gone out. Who knows?
May God give us grace to answer these calls willingly, helpfully, kindly—grace to love these interruptions and those who make them.