So a friend told me a few things and began to weep, and another friend saw us and said, “Hey, are you alright?” “Not really,” said the first, “but I’ll have a coffee and a cigarette and pull myself together.”
“Shall I sit with you?” I asked.
“Whoa!” said the second friend, “watch out for those Baptist ministers! I’m going to the city to do my taxes, wanna come?”
“Sounds like it’s God or taxes…,” I said, laughing.
“Right now,” said the first, “I probably need a bit of God.”
***
We didn’t specifically talk about God. We talked about work and kids and exhaustion and suffering and hope and love and karma. We talked about the future, and some of our dreams. I didn’t fix anything. Mostly I just held the space and listened. My job is simple, but some people find it threatening, so maybe it’s time I tell you just what we ministers do: Often, it’s no more than being ready to listen when someone chooses God over taxes.
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