ASK ANYTIME
／Evelyn O. Shih
It was 2:00a.m. I awoke and could not go back to sleep. I wished that I could talk to somebody.
Someone under the roof? Or in the same city? No, although a friend had assured me that she usually awoke many times at night anyway, so I could call her anytime. I didn't want to scare her, however, with a midnight phone call.
I could call my children in the eastern part of the States, as it was their breakfast time. He could I explain myself in the turmoil of their rush hour? "No, nothing important, I just want to talk to somebody." They would be worried all day about what I really wanted.
Let me change the setting to Southeast Asia. Mm! There it was dinner time. I could hear the whole family talking about what had happened to them during the day and I could even smell the aroma from the kitchen. How could I intrude and break their harmony?
The world was so big and my friends were so many, yet I could not find a single person that I would ask without any contemplation. I started to feel sad and lonely.
I thought about myself. I am not a person who can give away my time without limitations either. That's why I had turned off my bedroom phone a few years ago. I had to protect myself from intrusion. So, now, how could I feel sorry for myself that I had to consider intruding on others. I would be an extremely selfish person or a tyrant if I only thought about myself.
Oh! Lord! Only You can afford to answer all my needs at anytime, because You are infinite; You are beyond time. You don't sleep, or even take a nap. You are always there waiting for my call. There are no angels acting like secretaries to ask me to hold, no machines asking me to press certain buttons and no pre-recorded answer telling me to leave a message. You have a hotline especially for me. You talk to me personally.
You also like me to be near. You all the time, as a toddler clings to his mother's apron. You want me to ask for Your help only; not to rely on others, nor to my own talent.
By this time, I was full of joy and peace, and I jumped out of bed to write down this precious experience right away.
