Among the wonderful things about living in community are the relationships you form over the years.  Whether you connect through children at school or sports events, or you work or worship together, casual relationships often become special friendships. 

In our area, we are blessed with a choice of many great doctors.  As you read that, I would almost guarantee your thoughts shifted to those who are your favorites.  Whether your primary care doctor, your dentist, optometrist or orthopedist, we all have that healthcare provider we really enjoy seeing (even if we don’t enjoy what they tell us). 

When a woman is expecting a baby, oftentimes that special relationship is formed with her obstetrician.  I remember when I was expecting our first baby, I was unprepared for the emotions that would unexpectedly overwhelm me to the point I would break down in tears over nothing…like having pork chops for dinner. (Yes, that really happened.)  I remember as I neared the end of my pregnancy, I exclaimed one day in tears, “Dr. Deahl is the only person who really understands me!”  Bless. His. Heart.

I stopped by Dr. Tim Deahl’s office recently – to say goodbye.  He has retired, and he was in the midst of closing up shop–cleaning out his desk and going through many notes and cards from women like me, who appreciated him so much.  I teasingly asked him if he was sitting back in his office crying, to which he replied, “No, but there have been a bunch of tears in this office…I feel like I’ve been breaking up with my girlfriend every 15 minutes for the last two weeks!”  We dissolved into laughter, and then I did my best to explain to him the way I had felt as a young woman, experiencing something I thought I was prepared for and wasn’t.  I shared how his steadiness and “everything will be okay” attitude brought a calm assurance, much like that of a parent when a child is nervous.  I told him that, while I knew he was “just doing his job”, he was doing so much more.  He was building very special relationships–the kind of relationships that bring tears when they end.  Thank you, Dr. Deahl, for caring for so many of us.  Thank you for delivering our daughter and son, and our son’s two sons. 

During this holiday season, take a moment to think about those special relationships in your life, and drop those people a card.  They will smile…and so will you.

Merry Christmas,