One minute read.
Daily Reading: Ezekiel 18:1-19:14, Hebrews 9:1-10, Psalm 106:32-48, Proverbs 27:10
Daily Verse: “Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity. Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.” Prov. 27:10
Helpful friends.
Available friends who live close by offer more help than a relative far away. My neighbor Stephanie, only walking distance from us, takes care of our dogs, picks up packages, waters the plants, and anything else that pops up when we leave. I do the same for her when she takes a trip. She’s more available than my relatives who live further away.
When you live far away from family, friends help you through the trials of day-to-day life. One of my young friends and her family of five children, with a traveling husband, has no relatives nearby. When she needs help babysitting, she texts me. My availability and proximity make me a better choice than calling her mom, who lives 2,000 miles away.
Calling on relatives who live a long distance away can’t help like a friend who lives close by. Whatever the emergency, available neighbors help where far-off family members can’t.
Call on the friends God gives you in your time of need. They will help you through the storm.
Lord, forgive us for calling on the wrong people for help. Please place around us friends we can count on amid life’s stresses. Help us develop strong relationships with those who live close to us. IJNIP. Amen
