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Do you remember speaking out the name of
a loved one, or writing it on the palm of your hand? Even so does
the Lord engrave our names in His heart. His companionship is the
best antidote of all to our grief – but as we have been hinting
throughout this book, few things inspire us like the support of a
friend. Many of us can identify with Paul’s sense of relief when his
friend Titus turned up.
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When we came into
Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were
harassed at every turn; conflicts on the outside, fears
within. But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by
the coming of Titus, and not only by his coming but also by
the comfort you had given him.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4 |
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How grateful Ros and I are
for the friendships the Lord has developed over many years.
When we are in the company of these “day and nighters,” we
sense the Lord's presence more easily, and release timely
and authoritative prayers for each other, whilst helping
each other to absorb the repeated assaults of grief’s
battering ram.
Conventional wisdom has it that it
becomes more difficult to make close friendships once we have passed
a certain age. God’s leading makes a nonsense of such artificial
limitations! He loves to join us to people we can bless and be
blessed by, regardless of age considerations.
If there is only a narrow window of
opportunity during which such friendships can fire up, then God will
work fast. One touch from Him can enable new connections to develop
farther and deeper in a few focused hours than many friendships ever
progress to in a lifetime.
At any time the Lord can take
existing friendships deeper, or launch entirely new ones. A widow in
Tulsa called Shirley was serving breakfast to her children one day
when the Lord told her to go to MacDonalds. She made all the
protests that you or I would probably have made if faced with such a
situation, but finally yielded to her leading.
She will be forever grateful that she
did, for it was at that unlikely time of the morning that she met
the man who became her husband. A widower minister called Terry Law
just happened to be passing through the city at that precise moment,
having prayed to meet his future wife. The rest, as they say, is
history – and all because Shirley was willing to leave a cooked meal
untouched on her breakfast table.
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Reflect and Pray
Praise God for friends who allow us as much time and space as we
need in which to share our pain. They, above all people, help us to
discover our own voice, and to become our true selves in Christ.
Alison Browne, whose poems we have quoted extensively in this book,
wrote that “a friend’s love pushes aside the veil of tears.” She
also wrote, |
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Jesus – at
times my love for You grows so urgent in my heart
that I long to hug you physically.
What can I do?
Hug a friend, and in doing so you hug Jesus.
Lord, I never want
to take precious friendships for granted.
Now, in the aftermath of loss and change,
may old friendships continue to grow and mature,
and new ones be forged,
In the Name of our greatest Friend, Amen. |
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