A friend, indeed.

"Strangers are just friends waiting to happen." ~Rod McKuen

Life is full of little surprises.  Making a new friend is always a treat for one's heart.  Sometimes, an instant connection pulls two beings together. Other times, new friendships may take extra work. But isn't friendship worth it?  How hard it would be to go through life without a friend!

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

A lifetime friend is a special blessing. Through the years, encouragement and strength become the ties that bind.  How sweet are memories shared through the long journey of life. Edith Wharton wrote: "There is one friend in the life of each of us who seems not a separate person, however dear and beloved, but an expansion, an interpretation, of one's self, the very meaning of one's soul." God surely blesses friends who are faithful through the years.

"But friendship is the breathing rose, with sweets in every fold." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
                                              
Any friendship is a blessing, old or new.  Consider this: Jesus was your first friend.  Even better: He is always with you. He made your heart whole and lives in every breath you take. You are never alone. "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." John 15:15. Blessings to you, my friend.

It may be up to you....

Recently our pastor discussed the idea that God sometimes places each of us in certain situations because we may be the only one who can help. I remembered a few recent events that, at the time, seemed a happy outcome, but upon further reflection, God's direction made perfect sense. Matthew 25:40 says,"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

A friend was spending a warm autumn afternoon at a corn maze/pumpkin farm with his family.  He encountered an older lady who was visibly upset, calling for her grandchild. She had left the young grandchild sitting outside the maze while she took her other grandchildren through it.  This event could have resulted in a child abduction or, at best, an injury to the child. My friend entered the maze, covered the vast area around the maze, and eventually found the child.

Another friend was at a popular dining establishment with her husband.  She decided to use the restroom while waiting for their table. Normally, the restroom was busy, but this night, she thought she was alone. From the handicap stall at the far end of the room, she heard a woman calling for help.  The woman was slurring her words and had ended up on the floor. Fearing the woman was having a stroke, my friend quickly went to the reservation desk and relayed the information.  She returned to stay with the woman until the ambulance came and paramedics were able to stabilize the woman. 

Is being in the right place at the right time a coincidence? Not at all.  God needs each of us to carry out His good work.  There may be times in your life where it is easier to walk away, but do not let your Father down. He has placed you there for a specific reason.

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:1.

The secret of life...

"That's the secret to life... replace one worry with another....” Charles M. Schulz

Charles M. Schulz saw the humor in everyday events.  Perhaps that is why he is credited with this quote.  He is better known as a cartoonist, the creator of Peanuts.  It is an honor to write that I knew this fine man.  He was very famous, yet just your average guy.  A quiet man, "Sparky" as he was known around town, was an observer.  He must have had worries, and with his character, Charlie Brown, "Sparky" always provided an answer through Lucy, the know-it-all psychiatrist, or with a Biblical verse in his comic strip.

How can we forget the Charlie Brown Christmas special where Linus quoted Luke from memory about the miracle of Christ's birth?  Did "Sparky" worry about whether using a Bible verse would turn off viewers??  He was told that the Christmas special would never show again.  And, with a little faith, "Sparky" saw his animated movie become one of the most popular Christmas reruns ever!

We all tend to worry.  And usually our worries come and go and are replaced by other worries.  God doesn't want us to worry and obsess over our troubles.  Luke 12:25 says, "And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"  Does this verse speak to you??  God wants each of us to voice our worries just once.  Then he will take care of the rest.  Pray for a solution.  God answers prayer.

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you." 1 Peter 5:7 .

 

A life within...

Source: Nicola Evans

 

Our grandbaby grows within mother's womb.  We don't know the sex or the name.  We are praying and waiting patiently for this bundle.  Five more months, we'll wait.  We ponder the miracle of creation.  It is more than mere mortals can comprehend. God is weaving his wonder from within and this little being will arrive as a special gift for all of us who already feel great love.

Ecclesiastes 11:5: Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

God fashioned each one of us in His own image.  We are all unique; there is no one else just like us. What an awesome thought to remember when we don't feel worthy, or have a bad day. God loves us without any hesitation.  Isn't that wonderful?

When you feel the joy of a new baby, soft and perfect, or look into the trusting eyes of a toddler; remember: this is how God sees you!

Jeremiah 1:5: "I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart ..."