Friendship

SCRIPTURE: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24 NIV

THOUGHT: I have some wonderful siblings, but one is in Texas and two are in Kansas. By necessity in some ways, I’ve learned the truth of the Psalmists’ comment. God created the family, and there is a fierce protective instinct we feel toward siblings and their families, our children, and even parents as they age. But friendship is different. Friends are often there when family isn’t or can’t be. I’ve had friends sit with me at the hospital, come help with packing and moving, sit with me in court when divorce shredded my life, and laugh with me at inside jokes.

My husband has proven to be such a friend. He knows my life and heart so well that he can speak truth to me from a deep well, and I can do the same for him. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst, and prayed and counseled and encouraged each other through hard places as only friends can. I have no doubt that family is and was the plan on God’s heart for us humans, but I’m grateful that reliable friends have filled in so many gaps to keep me from ruin.

PRAYER: Jesus, thank you for friends (some of them family!) who enter the sacred spaces of our heart to bring more of your own heart to us. You had close friends too, and developing friendship was one of the purposes of your life. Help us follow your footsteps in sowing into the good souls you’ve put in our lives as friends.

Dear Reader,
I’m glad you’re along and I pray you will be blessed, challenged, and encouraged in your faith by something you read here.

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ABOUT ME:
Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.

Check out Walking When You’d Rather Fly, and learn more about the book and Amy’s other ministries. You will also find her devotional work at Words of Hope.

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