Instead, it is you - my equal, my companion and close friend. What good fellowship we once enjoyed… ~Psalm 55:13-14
Restoring old friendships is one theme God’s been tapping on my heart. Consumed with friends around me, other friendships have slipped into near oblivion. God opened His heart and showed me the grief I’ve caused Him and others through my negligence. Despite that picture and the repeating reminders from God, I dragged my feet in reestablishing friendships.
The importance of reconnecting was so vital, that God moved beyond my slackness. Instead of me getting in touch with my friends, they contacted me!
~ A sweet friend wrote me clear out of the blue this past spring. Shocked, but so glad to hear from her, I found out she moved to the same town where I live!
~ Around the same time, another formerly close friend sent me an email. In college a group of eight girls lived, worked, slept, ate, worked out, studied, and basically performed every life function together. Though different in many ways, friendship flowed naturally between us. After graduation, we continued to stay close. However, over the years, marriage, babies, a variety of states and thousands of miles separated us. Lazily, I let these reasons be a wedge and lost contact. Years later my surprise email invited me to a baby shower for one of the girls. In essence it was a grand reunion of the Great Eight!
~ The biggest Blast from the Past to contact me goes waaaaaay back (as in almost-to-the-womb)! God hand-picked five of us girls to knit together. Several times a week each summer our moms packed us kids in the hoopdy station wagon and headed to the beach. The second the ocean air hit our noses we screamed at the top of our lungs! God bless our brave, patient moms! We girls roller-skated in her basement; climbed trees in my sister’s and my back-yard; rode Huffy’s up and down her neighborhood; and sang our hearts out to Amy Grant. As adults, four out of the five girls remained in touch, always missing our fifth link. Individually the Lord kept her close to our hearts. She was one that He asked me to be in touch with. And wouldn’t you know, she got in touch with me first! God is good and faithful.
These friendships vary in their stories. The making of each one differs from the other. The Lord’s reason for renewing them isn’t the same. What is the same is His unchanging call for us to be in community with one another. More importantly, to be in community with Him. Though the making of each of our relationships with the Lord varies, He longs to be in friendship with us. Today I pray Jesus contacts you in a surprising way, much like my old friends did. And your friendship with God will be reestablished.
God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says, and He has invited you into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. ~ I Corinthians 1:9
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