Sister, let me be your servant . . .

“A friend loves at all times.”  —Proverbs 17:17

She’d lost her son too.

I’ll never know why Jean made it a point to find me. Married to the famous Leighton Ford, and sister of Billy Graham, she came and introduced herself in the hallway of the historic Greenbrier Hotel.

Both of us had come to Virginia with our husbands to celebrate her brother’s 90th birthday. As she looked at me with soft blue eyes that sparkled with kind interest, I could tell she’d suffered too. She knew what it was to weep and hurt for a dead son. I felt that instant connection as another mother who has faced the loss of a beloved son. It is a bond few can share in.

So we sat across the table from each other as we sipped cup after cup of steaming coffee. Though just newly acquainted, we had that awful experience in common, and that was the unseen bond between our two hearts.

“I’m so sorry,” she said tenderly throughout our conversation. Actually, I did most of the talking while she just listened attentively. Sometimes, that is the greatest gift one can give to a grieving person. She provided that safe place for me, one that I didn’t seek out, but was so thankful for.

In the elegant room, filled with all the “who’s who” of the evangelical world, she listened as I cried—I often do when I speak of Christopher. I heard her say, “It is so fresh.” She could look back and remember the long road of grief that she and Leighton had traveled.

No, she didn’t give me three points on how I might get through grief. She was, quite simply, a loving and attentive friend. This song I heard long ago reminds me of my afternoon with Jean:

Photo by Christopher Laurie, July 2008
Photo by Christopher Laurie, July 2008

Sister, let me be your servant

Let me be as Christ to you

Pray that I may have the grace to let you be my servant too.

We are pilgrims on a journey

We are travelers on the road

We are here to help each other

Walk the mile and bear the load.

I will hold the Christ-light for you

In the nighttime of your fear

I will hold my hand out to you

Speak the peace you long to hear

I will weep when you are weeping

When you laugh, I’ll laugh with you

I will share your joy and sorrow

Till we’ve seen this journey through.

When we sing to God in heaven

We shall find such harmony

Born of all we’ve known together

Of Christ’s love and agony.

—From “The Servant Song” by Richard Gillard