Am I All Alone? Friends as Gifts

Photo Credit: Rodrigo Suarez

“Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.  He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.” (Daniel 2:17 NIV)

Daniel of Lion’s Den fame stood head and shoulders above the average person with his strong principles, trust in God, and bravery, but he wasn’t alone.  When faced with a calamity such as threatened execution, he went to his friends.

I was given a best friend as a gift from my loving Heavenly Father when I was a lonely teen.  Doris rode on the same bus to school and lived a five-minute walk from my house which allowed us to spend a lot of spend time together.  We basically lived at each other’s houses during middle school and high school years.

But the true test of our friendship occurred when we began different life trajectories: Doris to nursing school, marrying young and raising three boys; I to college far away, mission trips, and a later marriage and children.  But we stayed friends.  Doris put up with my foibles, my immaturity, my self-centeredness – By her example and wise words, I was pointed to God as my source and I learned that lifelong friendship is precious.

Her friendship stands as a monument to the truth that God’s design is for us to go through life with others. God provides those faithful ones who say, like Jonathan’s armor-bearer, “Do all that you have in mind. I am with you heart and soul.”  (I Samuel 14:7 NIV).  We are not alone!

Worthy Words:  “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” Proverbs 18: 24 NIV