Lights Everywhere

“Thank you for coming to check on us!” – Jay Anderson

Lights Everywhere

In the early morning there is no great light in the sky, so when public assistance lights flash, they act as eye catchers.  Red, white and blue lights had captured virtually all of my vision and well as my interest on this particular cold morning.

Such lights are especially intriguing where I live, due to their infrequency.  My rural lifestyle isn’t conducive to a lot of excitement.  Emergency lights are noticed here!  As I approached Jay’s house I could see a sheriff, ambulance and fire rescue all crowded together near the drive.   But, I couldn’t see what the problem was.  I got as close as I could get without introducing extra excitement from the dogs that were strung to me.

I shifted their leashes and said, “Let’s go home!”

They turned on a dime and we double-timed it toward our house.  Once I tucked them inside the house and gave them their breakfast I immediately slid into my car and drove right back, following the lights.

As soon as I rounded the corner I noticed another set of lights just emerging from Jay’s drive.  The other colored lights were leaving the scene, so I parked on the side of the road just near enough to seize Jay’s attention and he stopped.

As he stopped, I walked to his window just in time to see its top edge disappear into its steel hollow.

“I saw all the lights when I was walking my dogs.”  I said in greeting.  “Is everything alright?  Are you and Donetta well?”

His right hand began to rise slowing toward the opening in his truck.  His eyes spoke with sincerity.

“Everything is fine.”  He responded.  “We seem to have a problem with our carbon monoxide detectors.  We didn’t want to take any chances so we asked for help to check it out!”

He removed his leather work glove and gave my hand a warm clasp.  As he did so I noticed something different about his handshake.

“Thank you for caring.  Thank you for coming to check on us!”  He said with a smile and extra grip from his hand.

“You’re welcome!”  I responded.  “You guys are important to me and I wanted to see if you needed help!”

As he took one last look my way before he drove off, I noticed something in his eyes that I had never seen before.  I thought we were friends before, but now I knew my mistake.  We were merely acquaintances.  The light I saw coming from his eyes announced our new friendship.  It made me feel warm.

As I walked back toward my car I wondered.  I wondered how I could have mistaken a slight acquaintance with friendship, I’ve been fooling myself far more often than I would have liked.  Jay taught me that genuine caring is the only offering that can create true friendship. 

You can gauge a friendship’s depth from light expressed through the eyes of another.  It’s a light that permeates a soul.  You can feel it inside, everywhere.