“I went to sleep with gum in my mouth and now there’s gum in my hair and when I got out of bed this morning I tripped on the skateboard and by mistake I dropped my sweater in the sink while the water was running and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.”
Perhaps you’ve read these words from the childhood classic — Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
It was 1980 and I had life figured out and firmly in my grip. Gum, skateboards and sweaters weren’t even on my radar. Neither was the death of my brother, Jeff, just a few weeks into my sophomore year at Andrews University.
Suddenly I was faced my own terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. I buried myself in my studies to numb the pain. Few knew. Few asked.
But this post isn’t about me — I want to tell you about the power of Simon & Garfunkel & Valerie.
That year the girls’ dorm became my safe haven. Valerie Phillips, one of Jeff’s college friends, was a women’s dean. With God-given intuition, she would call and extend invitations to eat supper in her dorm apartment.
I would talk. She would listen. Gloriously delicious non-cafeteria food hit the spot. My tears would often flow and her ample frame would provide assurance. And then she’d excuse herself to take care of evening dorm duties.
Her instructions were always the same. Stay as long as you like. Don’t worry about room check — I’ll call your dean and let him know where you are. And feel free to listen to records if you want.
And so in the sanctuary of Valerie’s apartment, I would listen to Simon & Garfunkel records — knowing for those precious moments that someone knew about my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. My Alexander pain eased.
All around us people are having “Alexander” days, years and even lives. The person in the check-out line at the store. Your co-worker. The man at church who always seems happy. One of your kids. Alexanders are everywhere.
If you Google “comfort of God” you will find dozens of texts like 2 Corinithians 1:3-4 that say, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulations . . .”
But because God needs our listening ears, warm hugs, and acts of compassion for the Alexanders in our lives, the verse goes on to say, “…that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
My Challenge — Ask God for the eyes, ears and intuition to see the Alexanders in your world. And be sure to ask God for the courage to pull the gum out of someone’s hair, pick them up after a skateboard fall, or dry their wet sweater.
God promises a soon-coming Very Good, New Day. Until then, may we find inspiration in the example of Simon & Garfunkel & Valerie.