How Are You?

How are you today? Or “How are you doing?”

Simple questions and ones we are frequently asked throughout the day.

They have almost become a replacement for ‘hello,’ and, we can easily get caught up in giving a rote response.

However, it becomes more than hello when the person asking these questions senses there may be something wrong.

There have been two occasions lately when members of our team have used ‘how are you’ for more than just a hello.

A few weeks ago one team member was visiting a doctor’s office and interacting with one of the nurses. He sensed there was something bothering the nurse so he asked ‘how are you?’ and he received a real answer.  The nurse’s family was going through a tough time and went on to explain a few details.  Right there our the Brindlee Mountain Fire team member asked if he could pray for her and to his surprise, she said yes.  

More recently another team member was helping a vendor unload a delivery on our campus. Here again, our team member sensed something was not quite right and asked “how are you today?” The conversation quickly evolved to the vendor’s sharing how he had just learned his dad had been told he only had 3 or 4 days to live. Right there our Brindlee Mountain Fire team member asked if he could pray for him?  The vendor said yes.

If you know our team, a few names may come to mind who you think would live out caring for others through offering a prayer as comfort. But you would probably be wrong. 

The joy of this story is how thankful that we are for team members who embrace and support each other and anyone they come in contact with.

In both circumstances, both the nurse and the vendor expressed gratitude for the prayer.

The next time you use the phrase ‘how are you today?’ or ‘how are you doing?’ you just might need to be ready to hear more than ‘fine.’