True Friendship

Several years ago I jotted down some quotes about friendship, and I'd like to share some of my favorites with you.  Just sit in silence for a while and soak up the depths of meaning in each one.

What is a real friend?

"A friend loves at all times..." Proverbs 17:17

“A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out.” Walter Winchell

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” G. Randolf

How can I be a true friend?

“Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Walk beside me and be my friend.” Albert Camus

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Mother Teresa

 “When you love, you wish to do things for. You wish to sacrifice for. You wish to serve.” Ernest Hemingway

Ultimate Friendship

The quote by Hemingway about sacrifice speaks volumes of what real friendship is, and I can't think of a better example than how Jesus sacrificed His life for us.

Friends on earth will always have flaws and weaknesses and sometimes will even turn their backs on us, but Jesus is a Friend Who always has and always will remain faithful and steadfast.  He knows our deepest secrets, and yet He will never betray us.  He has paid the ultimate sacrifice for us, and He will never, never, never leave us or forsake us.

"What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear..."

Do you have friendship quotes or experiences to share?

What personal experience revealed Jesus as your BEST FRIEND?

Every Life Deserves Respect

This week, as I took a plunge into paper-file overhaul and reorganization, I discovered some thoughts I wrote during the battle over the life of Terri Schiavo in 2005.

I remember her eyes.  She couldn't express her opinion, but to me her eyes cried out, "Please fight for me."  Some pictures I saw at the time indicated a sparkle of understanding, of love received and love given.  I watched those same eyes glaze over as she was forced to slowly die of starvation.

The shock of it resurrects itself in my heart and digs up memories of my time as a nurse's aide in a nursing home.

I remember Edith whose body grew rigid in a fetal position.  She couldn't do anything for herself, and she couldn't even express her needs or wants.  When she tried to speak, unintelligible sounds garbled out.  Her big, beautiful, brown eyes didn't always focus, but behind them was a woman who loved and was loved.

One day as I fed Edith her dinner, I noticed an unopened letter on her bedside table.  Who had tossed it there without reading it to her?  Can you imagine her heart dancing with excitement at the thought of someone remembering her with a letter?  Then spinning a nosedive into frustration and depression, unable to reach it or even open it? 

As I opened the letter and read it, another aide passed the doorway and looked at me like I was a crazy alien.  Too often I worry about what others think of me, but at that moment I chose to respect Edith and her precious life.  I continued to read a message from a loving daughter who couldn't be with her mom.  As I glanced up, Edith's eyes connected to my innermost soul.  Tears of gratitude spilled over onto the sides of her face.  As she tried to say something, all that would come out was, "Aawawuw...," No, I didn't understand her words, but the message behind her eyes still resonates in my heart today.

Edith, just like Terri Schiavo, was a person with feelings, hopes, and dreams.  A person who loved and was loved.  A person who had a purpose in this life no matter how disabled she was.  A person who has every right to be respected.

God has given that right to each of us.  We can read the truth of it in Psalm 8, "What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?  You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor."   God not only cares for us, but He has crowned us with glory and honor. 

Because of this, it should never come to a battle over whether the Terri Schavios of this world should live or die.  What right do we have to mess with the life God has given?

 How can we fight for those who can't fight for themselves?

Weighed and Found Wanting

The World English Dictionary defines "diagnosis" as a "thorough analysis of facts or problems in order to gain understanding and aid future planning."  Without a correct diagnosis, there can be no understanding as to how best to treat a disease.  Without an adequate understanding, there can be little or no progress forward.

Recently I have been diagnosed with sarcoidosis and sleep apnea.  Now that a diagnosis has been reached through extensive laboratory testing and analysis, I can move forward to a more functional life as proper treatments are administered with God's blessing.

However, this morning I woke not with a physical diagnosis, but with a crucial diagnosis of my heart. I "have been weighed in the scales and found wanting." (Daniel 5:27)
So often I start my morning with "God, please help me through this day."  So often I pray that God will satisfy my needs.  I focus on my comfort.  I want the time to be filled with my agenda.  I even want the day to be filled with my praise as I seek for approval or affirmation from others.

No, I don't have idols of gold and silver clutched in my hands like Belshazzar did in Daniel 5, but I certainly have stinking idols of selfishness in my heart.  Like him, I do "not honor the God who holds in His hand my life and all my ways." (Daniel 5:23)  I fear my life is about me, me, me...

As I search my heart further, I can see how it's my selfishness also that is road-blocking my writing.  Often I am afraid to publish what I write.  Why?  I fear I will say the wrong thing and hurt someone.  Now I really do hate to hurt anyone's feelings and I hate confrontation, but is that really what is deflating my tires, or is it that I'm afraid someone will turn against me if I speak the truth?  Me again...

This diagnosis I received this morning is far more difficult to accept than physical diagnoses, but now I ask myself: What will I do with it?  I can say I wept before God this morning and again asked His forgiveness, but that sounds like me again.  So I will just say God is faithful and forgiving.  He stands firm no matter how much we fail.  In Jesus and His totally unselfish sacrifice, my selfishness can be washed away again and again.  The 100% pure and sure treatment for a correct diagnosis.

In Jesus, I can move forward.  Because of JESUS and HIS LOVE, my wake-up prayer can become, "God, please let YOUR NAME be glorified today. Not my will and way, but YOURS. Not my praise, but YOURS forever!"

Read Daniel 5.

Dig into your heart.  What idols are hidden there?

How has God shown you His complete forgiveness in and through the blood of Jesus?

Troubles Make Us Stronger

"We've been through a lot together, haven't we, Mom?" a young boy said as he was dying from cancer after losing his father. "But we have grown stronger because of it though."  (Highway to Heaven TV program)

Isn't that true for each of us here on earth?  How would we ever grow in knowledge and strength without troubles? 

While we languish in a valley of darkness, we can't see clearly.  But eventually we come to see the light and wisdom of struggling through it.  We become stronger, don't we?

If God chooses to keep us in the same tough situation, whether it's physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual, He has a special plan for us.

God has not chosen to give me complete physical health yet.  The final diagnosis is sarcoidosis, an auto-immune inflammatory disease that primarily affects the lungs but can affect other organs also.  I also need to get a sleep study done to test for sleep apnea since my oxygen sats want to plunge too often when I'm sleeping.

God has a reason for it all.  I just need to take a day a time and be thankful for every step in the direction of a better quality of life.  Yes, I'm human, and my inner self pouts like a spoiled child that didn't get her way.  I wanted complete healing here and now, but God is still good!  I have so many undeserved blessings.

Not one of us is exempt from trouble on this earth, and many of us have undergone deep and heavy trials, sometimes one after another.  However, no matter how many we go through or how long each one lasts, God remains faithful and we will grow stronger.

What dark valleys have you gone through?

How have they made you stronger?