Has anyone ever said anything so monumental to you that their kindness threw you a bit sideways? 

That happened to me recently and it really cemented in my mind, the sheer capacity of the power of a handful of words.

The writer in me loves words! Lots of them. Line them all up. A bunch of words together has the ability to make a descriptive and relatable story. So, I was quite surprised when four words got 100% of my total attention and even left me a bit tongue tied. 

Many of you know about my unexpected hospital stay in September. This week I had an appointment with a doctor I’d never met before. It took nearly a month to get in and I spent a most of the days leading up to it, splashing around in all kinds of worries and “what if’s”.

Finally the day came, and we were off to the city for the appointment. Once we arrived, we sat in the waiting room. I was pretty sure spring had sprung, by the amount of butterflies in my stomach. 

That changed when the  doctor came to the waiting room to get me. Wow, I was stunned, to say the least. The nurses usually come to the waiting room, but the doctor? I’d never seen that before.

By the time we sat down in the exam room, nearly all my fears, nervousness, and worries from those days before, had disappeared. Simply put, this doctor was AMAZING! 

We weren’t rushed through the appointment and I was allowed to ask all of my questions. Things were explained in ways that I could actually understand. What a gift that was. Seems like after leaving other doctor’s offices, I sometimes scratch my head and wonder “what was that all about?” This time, it was different.

This doctor was kind, funny, personable, and compassionate. He educated us and helped us understand when things didn’t make sense. To top that off, he was also extremely thorough and most notably, he listened. Like, to me! 

As my appointment was coming to its end, I told this kind soul how nice he was and how I’d been scared to come to that appointment for a month. He expressed that he was sorry to hear that. Then, he said four words. Four simple, yet profound words.

“I care about you.”

Whoa, what? 

I’m pretty sure I’ve never heard a doctor say that E V E R. Wish I would’ve had a mirror so I could’ve seen my expression! I looked at my husband and said, “Did you hear that?”

Four words, my friends. A life changing  four words.