"Something came up.."

Each office is run a little differently as far as scheduling appointments and taking in clients. Most often, clients make an appointment for a certain time period and we put them on the schedule. We try to make sure clients are reminded and followed up with, but occasionally we still get no-shows. When this happens, it is taken more seriously than a lazy blow off, because in our line of work, a missed appointment could mean a child has lost it's life between the call we had with the client and the unfilled time slot. If it is missed and we are able to get back in touch with the prospective client, we may hear an answer like: "Oh, yeah, sorry, something came up..."

At this point we almost hold our breath. That "something" is literally the difference between life and death. We can hear their positive, polite responses to us over the phone and hope and pray that they are truly happy about the plans they have made for their life and that of their child. Their situation is now out of our hands and entirely in God's. Prayer is the real life changer though, so we do not lose hope.