Last night I got one of those crying calls.  You know what I’m talking about.  The person on the other end of the phone tries to play it cool until you ask the quesiton…though you can hear the tears welling up in the eyes and the throat thing that happens when someone is about to burst into tears.

So, I asked, “How are you?”  And the tears began.  I have trouble with these calls, not because I’m not compassionate.  One of my favorite lines in all of the movies I’ve ever watched is from Steel Magnolias.  Dolly Parton’s character says, “Well, you see, I have a policy.  I don’t ever let anyone cry alone.”  I have this policy myself. 

We talked for a while…her heart had been cut by yet another guy.  I gave all of the girly advice I could.  I even offered to beat him up…to lighten the mood, and because I am angry that he made her cry.  She asked the “why?” question a few times.  Finally, I asked her if she would consider being consciously single for a while.  She told me that she didn’t think that she could be single without being bitter. 

I read a timely article yesterday on being in your thirties and single and in ministry that I am going to forward to my friend.  You can read it here.  It’s good stuff.  I hope that single and married people alike will read it and digest it.