DailyConnections.net

THURSDAY 12/4/08

True Friends
 
I remember a time when I got my clock cleaned handily.  Lost everything — money, marriage, even my dog.  I was done.  Numb with pain, I retreated and holed up, licking my wounds.  Most “friends” scattered.  But a handful reached out.  Their gentle support — a dinner invite, cup of joe, but mostly just their quiet and caring presence — helped bring me back from the brink.  These few may not make the Cosmo and GQ short list, but I will never forget them, never turn my back on them, never take them for granted.
 
Oh, one of them, by the way, was and is God.  There were times I railed long and loudly about what He had done to me (or, more accurately, what He had let me do to myself), but He never turned his back on me.  Even in my deepest despair, I knew He was present.  And, yes, The Good Lord brought me through it … in spades.  He had a better plan, and it’s pretty darn wondrous.  Pretty amazing how He transforms total and utter disasters into wildly joyful blessings.  (Oh, and, yes, I even got my dog back.) 
 
My point:  Stand by your friends … and don’t ever forget that the Lord is and always is the most loyal one you will ever find.  Rejoice and trust in His loyalty and in His love.  You can count on it. — jri
 
“The breakers of death rolled over me,
    and the torrents of oblivion made me afraid.
The cords of hell entangled me,
    and the snares of death were set for me.
I called upon the Lord in my distress
    and cried out to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling;
    my cry of anguish came to his ears.”
        –     Psalm 18: 4-7