“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.” Proverbs 27:9 NIV
I realized something about the lifetime friends God gives you. They help keep you humble. I had the privilege this afternoon to have a nice long chat with one of my oldest friends. She knew the date of the last blog I had written, which touched my heart in a way only she could.
At one point I was sharing with her how my life seems surreal. I couldn’t believe what an amazing husband God has given me. To which she replied, “I know, think about some of the guys you dated.” I can’t type it without chuckling. I love she knows about every guy I’ve ever dated. The good, the bad, the ugly; she knows them all.
Our friendship is unique because it started when we were teenagers. To date, we have never lived in the same town together. Our friendship has always been long distance. It has always been a staple in my life. One I’ve taken for granted, as we do with those closest to us. When I was lost and adrift, she is the one who led me back to Jesus.
The beauty of our story, when we were teenagers hanging out, we never talked about God. We lost touch for about three years, during that time her faith had exploded. Mine had not. When I called her down and out, the first thing she did was tell me about Jesus.
That was decades ago. We’ve grown in Christ together ever since then. We’ve grown in a way, only friends who knew each other before Christ can grow. We’ve grown in ways you don’t realize until you have enough distance to look back and say, “Wow, we’ve come a long way since then.” The beauty of our friendship is, we both know, without doubt, it’s God that has gotten us here.
It is God that has carried us all these years. It is God that made us friends. It is God that keeps us together. It is God that has our tomorrows. And we didn’t even know it when He was doing it. We are constantly amazed at the myriad of ways He is working in our lives individually, as well as together.
Friends are gifts from God. New, old, those yet to meet. All of them are gifts from God.
