Becoming a people person

CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON

“Opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we usually expect it to

beckon us with beepers and billboards.”

-- WILLIAM ARTHUR WARD

First it was the phone, then it was the fax, and then it was the

phone again. I was working on a column, but it seemed like the more I

worked, the more I was interrupted. I stopped and asked for God to

guide me.

I always pray about what to write. Sometimes I sense clear

direction right away, and other times I don’t. God seemed silent that

particular day; the only word that kept coming to me was “people.”

I told God that I love him, I love people, and I love writing

about them, but then I asked God how I could write when I kept

popping up to answer calls. I decided not to answer the phone again

until I finished my work.

I sat back down at the computer and was only there for a few

minutes when someone knocked on the door.

“Hi, I’m here to check your electric meter,” a nice young man

said.

We talked briefly about the weather, and before he left, I said,

“God bless you.”

“Oh, he already has, in so many ways. Thank you, and have a great

day,” he answered before going next door.

I came back to my office, faced the computer screen again and

heard somebody knock loudly. I saw a truck outside and realized I

needed to answer the door.

“Hi there, Mrs. Christeson, I’m here to spray your yard. I just

wanted you to know that I was here,” a man said to me.

I thanked him and returned to my computer. I started to write when

I heard the doorbell.

“I’m sorry to bother you again, but are there any pets or wild

children I should know about?” the man asked.

I laughed and said, “Our children are grown, and we just have one

rabbit, and he’s in a cage. I think you’re safe.”

I showed him the gate to the backyard.

“You’re right. I think I can handle a caged rabbit.”

He went his way and I went mine. I reread what I’d written so far

because I was having trouble concentrating. Then I heard the doorbell

again.

“I’m really sorry. I just realized I didn’t ask if you need to

leave the house for the next 30 minutes because I’m parked behind

your car.”

No problem, I’ve got plenty to do right here.

I came back to my computer, which faces the yard where he was

working. I rewrote the same paragraph at least five times. Then he

left the yard, and I was just getting all my concentration back when

the doorbell rang again.

“I’m all finished, and everything looks good. We’ll be back in two

months,” he said.

That’s when I realized 30 minutes had just flown by.

“By the way, where do you go to church?” he asked.

I answered and then asked him the same thing. Pretty soon we were

talking about the sermons we’d each heard last weekend, and he spoke

about his friends, the highs and lows of his past, and then explained

the difference that came when he reached out to God. I gave him some

water before he left, and as I took the bill from him I asked, “Wait,

how did you know we go to church?”

He smiled and said, “Oh, I can tell.”

Maybe I was looking at things all wrong. Maybe the interruptions

weren’t keeping me from the work that I thought mattered. Maybe it

was the fact that sometimes interruptions, especially if they connect

us with people, is the work that matters most of all.

And you can quote me on that.

* CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach resident who speaks

frequently to parenting groups. She may be reached via e-mail at

[email protected] or through the mail at 537 Newport Center Drive,

Box 505, Newport Beach, CA 92660.