When my father died 19 years ago, my family and I had amazing support from friends everywhere. However, there is one friend of mine who really sticks out to me – one that I’ll never forget. Let’s call him Steve, because that’s not his name. Steve was a fraternity brother of mine, a couple years younger than me, and although very popular, he didn’t have the social training that other 20 somethings had by that point in life. A day or so after my dad passed, he called me and this was his offering: “Hey Chris, I really don’t know what to say, but I thought I should call.” And that was it. He really had no idea what to say, so he didn’t say anything. I was touched, I felt a little bit better than I did before he called, and I promised myself to never forget this call. Why?
When someone is in the middle of a crisis or maybe just having a bad day, any little thing could lift them. An offering of a shopping cart, a compliment, a smile, or an awkward call from a friend; which brings me to my point of this post…
Last night before bed I was checking Facebook and read several posts where people in my Facebook community had shared their current challenges. I’ll typically skip those unless it’s a close friend – then I’ll call them the next chance I get. I feel a little weird giving Facebook Friend #906 an uplifting comment when we haven’t spoken in person since the 1980s. Then, for some reason I remembered Steve’s phone call: “… I really don’t know what to say…” I can envision him sitting in front of his phone for 20 minutes that afternoon trying to think of what he should say. But guess what? It worked. I felt better and he was one of the many bricks in the structure that supported me during that sad time in my life.
Why can’t a quick comment from Facebook Friend #906 be any different? Why can a quick comment from a lady whose ex-husband went to 3rd grade with my boss from 1998 lift my day? So, that’s why I’m going to do my best to take a few seconds and offer a supportive comment to anyone that needs it on Facebook, even if I have no idea what to say.
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