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Published: Oct. 13, 2021, 8 a.m.

I didn\u2019t see this coming, but episode 121 that aired five weeks ago, \u201cThe Relational Energy of Fall,\u201d had the most listener response of any podcast episode this year, and I think for any of the past episodes since the podcast began in late November of 2018.

Keep listening to hear what listeners responded to because I think you\u2019ll be encouraged as you hear how sometimes God uses strangers to care for us.

The excerpt from episode 121 that started it all

I\u2019ll have a link to the entire episode 121 in the show notes, but for now, here\u2019s a brief excerpt from \u201cExperience the Relational Energy of Fall.\u201d

[ I\u2019m sorry, there is no transcript for this part of the podcast. Please listen to the podcast.]

Listener feedback

As you heard in the clip that just played, I felt helpless when I talked to Stacey. I wanted to do something besides listen. Yet, there was nothing I could do to make things better.

But then, weeks later, when the episode aired, I started getting responses from several listeners, which gave me an idea. Before I tell you the idea, here\u2019s the feedback I received that prompted me to do something

• \u201cJohn, I\xa0 enjoyed today's podcast. I will be praying for "Stacy" I was touched by her story.\u201d\xa0 - Patty
• \u201cGood morning John. I appreciated this week\u2019s You Were Made for This podcast. . . And for your daughter\u2019s high school friend, how difficult of a time she is going through. I\u2019m sure you mentioning that story rallied many to be praying for her. It did me.\u201d - Randy
• Another local podcast listener I ran into asked about Stacey, \u201cHow sad," he said about her situation.

And finally, there was this response from a listener

\u201cHaving been walking around the past few weeks, sometimes on the verge of tears, I have felt very alone in my sadness.

\u201cBut the few times when a brave person has been bold enough to ask me how I am doing, and then taken the time to truly listen, has been a healing balm. And a rare gift.

\u201dThere are no words I need or even want to hear. I just sometimes need a safe place to let a few tears seep out every now and then to cleanse my emotional paLette.

\u201cThanks for the reminder that it is OK to feel awkward if it allows another human being the chance to be real.\u201d ~ Imelda

NOTE: Imelda prayed for her, too!

• I was surprised and encouraged by people's reaction, at the compassion, and how they volunteered to pray for Stacey. Nobody asked them to do this!
• Their empathy for her and her difficult situation was palpable. They put themselves emotionally into her shoes. An abusive spouse. The prospect of not seeing her children. How will I pay the bills?

All three of these examples show me that somes God uses strangers to bless us and care for us.

What to do with this listener feedback

After hearing these responses to Stacey\u2019s story, the idea that came to me was to go back to the office supply store where she worked to let her know people were praying for her. I thought that would encourage her, and hopefully lighten her load a bit.

It would be putting 2 Corinthians 13:11 into practice, where we are told, \u201cencourage each other.\u201d

So I stopped into the office supply store one day, but she wasn\u2019t there. Before going the next time, I wrote a note and put it in an envelope with her name on it, thinking if she wasn\u2019t in again, I\u2019d ask one of her co-workers to give it to her when she came into work.

In the note, I said that I had a podcast and that I was so touched by the conversation we had several weeks ago that I used it as the subject of a podcast episode, changing her name, of course, to protect her privacy.

I told her about the podcast and how she could listen to it, and then I concluded with the following:

Much to my surprise, 4 different listeners have taken the time to tell me that they are praying for you. I have been doing the same most days since we last met. I hope this encourages you.

Stacey responds

Sure enough, she was gone again the next time I stopped into the store. So I dropped off the note with a co-worker before I checked out with my office supplies.

The same day I dropped the note off for Stacey, she sent me an email later that night. It read:

\u201cHi John,
When I got to work tonight, a co-worker told me, "A man came in with an envelope for you.\xa0 He said you went to school with his daughter, and asked me to hand-deliver it to you.\xa0 I put it in the office.\xa0 I'm\xa0 not sure what it is."

"I was intrigued. What the heck?\xa0 Who is this man?\xa0 Who is the person I went to school with?\xa0 So I went to the office and found the envelope with my name on it, and your return address label.\xa0 I opened it up, and couldn't make it to the 2nd paragraph without crying.\xa0 I was a mess.\xa0 Finally, though I got through the whole thing and I was bawling!\xa0 Then I showed it to my co-worker (who is not a Christian, by the way), and she thought it was really nice.\xa0 She said, \u2018You never know when people are thinking about you and that they care.\u2019

"Now that I'm living with my parents again, I showed them the letter as soon as I got home.\xa0 Again, I couldn't make it through the letter without crying.\xa0 I was anxious to listen to the podcast!\xa0 I just finished listening and I can't tell you how much I appreciate all the prayer that's going into my marriage . . . Most people would say I should've left him a long time ago.\xa0 I had one friend end our friendship because she couldn't take listening to all the stories of abuse and how I still kept going back to him.\xa0 Hearing your podcast was inspirational, so for that, I thank you.

"Thanks again for your letter, and for using me in your podcast.\xa0 Just knowing strangers are praying for me is humbling.\u201d

So what does all this mean for the rest of us?

Knowing that sometimes God uses strangers to care for people, we can do what Imelda talked about, namely

• Be a brave person, bold enough to ask someone how they are doing, and then take the time to truly listen.
• Don\u2019t worry about the words to say. Be a safe place for someone to cleanse their emotional palette, as she puts it. And then feel awkward doing this.

Here\u2019s the main point I hope you remember from today\u2019s episode

There are times when God uses strangers to care for us, to let us know we are not alone during our darkest of days. Conversely, there is real joy in being one of those strangers God uses to bless someone with our prayers. It brings out the best in us.

I\u2019d love to hear any thoughts you have about today\u2019s episode. Just send them to me in an email to john [at] caringforothers [dot] org. Or you can share your thoughts in the \u201cLeave a Comment\u201d box at the bottom of the show notes.

Closing

In closing, if you found this podcast helpful, please forward it to someone else.

I hope your thinking was stimulated by today\u2019s show, to both reflect and to act. Maybe to pray for a stranger going through a tough time. When you do so, you will find the joy God intends for you through your relationships. Even a relationship with a stranger. Because after all, You Were Made for This.

Well, that\u2019s all for today. I look forward to connecting with you again next week. Goodbye for now.

Related episodes you may want to listen to

121: Experience the Relational Energy of Fall

You Were Made for This is sponsored by Caring for Others, a missionary care ministry. We depend upon the generosity of donors to pay our bills.\xa0 If you'd like to support what we do with a secure tax-deductible donation, please click here. We'd be so grateful if you did.