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FRIDAY THOUGHT 8/22/08

Babysitting a Friend
 
There are times there is nothing you can do, except maybe offer a pat on the arm and a vague, “There, there, it will be okay.” 
 
I’ve been on both sides of this — one time sitting up all night playing cards with a friend who had just made a massive mistake and thought his life was over (it wasn’t; all ended joyfully); another when a friend sat with me, wordless, just being there, as I sat in the dust of my own life and pondered a bleak future (it turned out fine; all ended joyfully yet again). 
 
My point:  I believe we are here to take care of one another, and sometimes that means nothing more than showing up, calling a friend in distress, dropping by to see a neighbor who is alone and suffering.  It doesn’t take much, sometimes little more than a “There, there, it will be okay.”  Enjoy this beautiful day and all the opportunities we are given to serve the Lord through one another. — jri
 
“Then they sat on the ground with him
for seven days and seven nights.  No
one said a word to him, because they
saw how great his suffering was.”
        –    Job 2:13