Cell phone call seen as 'small miracle'

Was it a coincidence or a “small miracle” – that moment when two lives are brushed with Heaven’s touch?

It happened on a cold January morning almost six years ago when an unexpected call jingled my iPhone – a cell that ordinarily would have been silent.

Back then in 2009, I never turned it on until 9 o’clock when my freelance workday began. Early hours were reserved for a steaming mug of coffee and the newspaper.

But while perusing the headlines, I suddenly felt I should turn on my phone, the thought that someone might be calling vibrating strongly. As if in answer, I jumped up from the couch to retrieve it, leaving my warm afghan behind.

As the screen brightened in the dimly lit bedroom, I couldn’t help but note the huge numbers announcing the hour. Much too early for a woman not ready for telephone calls about the upcoming television show I produced.

“Why am I turning on my cell phone so early?” I thought to myself as I returned to the printed page. “I’m not even finished reading the newspaper yet.”

Settling back into my morning routine, I set my phone within arm’s reach.

What happened next wasn’t particularly exceptional. Someone rang my cell at 8 o’clock. But what was extraordinary was that I had it on and nearby.

The voice at the other end was filled with emotion, offering first an apology for calling early. Then her story poured out in a river of grief as Kristi Privette disclosed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer – again.

Her words sank into the depth of my being – a cold fear I so intimately understood.

We cried. We shared. I listened.

And then as she was about to hang up, she told me how much more peace she felt, adding an apology again for calling earlier than she thought she should.

“No problem!” I reassured her. “I usually don’t have my cell phone on until much later, but I turned it on at 7:25 this morning.”

She gasped.

Excitedly, she went on to tell me that when she had been in prayer that morning, she had told God how terribly overwhelmed she felt. And that’s when a quiet thought had brushed across her heart.

“Call Lucy.”

“I glanced at my watch,” Kristi told me, her voice racing with joy, “but it was 7:25 and too early to call. And even though the thought kept nudging me, I waited until 8 o’clock.”

But at 7:25 I was ready to answer. I call that a “small miracle.”

If you have a story idea for Light Notes, email lluginbill@tricityherald.com. Follow Lucy on Twitter @LucyLuginbill

This story was originally published November 23, 2014 at 6:45 AM with the headline "Cell phone call seen as 'small miracle'."