Church Moments

As church was about to start today, I tried to ignore the lady in front of me who kept turning around and gesturing and pantomiming to several of her friends. Then during greeting time, she pulled me to her and whispered in my ear, “Do you have a safety pin in your purse? Mary (not her real name) is having a problem with her skirt.”

I shook my head, knowing I didn’t have one in my purse and feeling like I was on “The Price is Right.” As the lady across the aisle seemed genuinely flustered at her wardrobe malfunction, I had second thoughts. While I didn’t have one in my purse, I had one at each shoulder covered by a bolero jacket where I had “temporarily” shortened the straps on my dress by pinching together and putting a pin in the excess length. My neckline might droop a little at one side if I removed one, but no one would likely notice with the jacket on.

I tapped the shoulder of the inquirer and said, “I have one I can spare.” She took me to Mary, who smiled with relief. She followed me to the restroom while I removed my safety pin and pinned the gap in her skirt where the tab had come off the zipper. Her long shirt covered the makeshift repair job and she was able to go up front and make her announcement about the children’s mission fundraiser.

“Thank your for the pin,” Mary said again after church.

“That’s okay,” I said, “Once I gave someone my slip.” I had, too. My husband was pastor of a small church in Mississippi, and before service one Sunday, a clueless young matron was making a spectacle of herself gaily socializing down front in a thin dress that showed she was wearing no slip, the light visibly silhouetting her long legs. I felt embarrassed for her, and when she came my way I took her aside and told her she had forgotten her slip. She seemed puzzled, but went with me to the ladies’ room where I took off the half-slip under my denim skirt and told her she could return it to me that night. She hadn’t been embarrassed in the least, and couldn’t understand my concern.

There are many old axioms, such as “A stitch in time saves nine”, and scriptures, such as “A brother is born for adversity”; but my favorite is “A friend in need is a friend indeed”. And that goes for sisters, too!