In Need of a Friend

A beautiful day, I thought as I crossed over one of the large lakes near Charlotte that I have never kayaked on. Oh how I wanted to stop there, the waves glinting in the sunlight and beckoning to me. But I was on a mission and could not. I drove an hour to take out to lunch one of the women I'd counseled who chose not to abort her baby. "K" is a new believer in Jesus, and is trying desperately to get out of the terrible life situation she is in. Cities4life (The abortion sidewalk counseling ministry I volunteer with) is providing as many resources as possible, but "K" has many strikes against her. Still....she has God, and God is bigger than any struggle.

As "K" ate her chocolate lava cake for dessert, sharing it with her adorable 20-month-old daughter, she smiled at me and said, "Thank you for taking me to lunch. I was feeling mighty lonely."  As a new believer in Jesus, she has made major life changes. The old crowd she used to run with no longer are her friends. She does not want to be dragged again into alcohol, drugs, and a life of poverty. She is slowly taking all the right steps. She took her placement test for community college classes, signed up for child care, and now is waiting for it all to fall into place. Please pray for her that the funding she needs comes through.

But what she really needs is a friend who lives nearby. She doesn't know a single person nearby who loves God. She is overwhelmed with her responsibilities, and knows she needs to go to church, but has not yet found one where she connects on a personal level. She has found few people are willing to befriend someone with a mountain of troubles who has nothing to offer but a hunger for Christ...and I am talking about in the church itself. This makes me very sad and troubled.

"I have no friends," she told me, "I text you more than anyone else I know."
"I'm your friend," I told her, reaching for her hand. However, I am old enough to be her mother. She needs a peer. Oh Lord, please bring her a friend who loves you and will walk alongside her as she seeks to honor and follow you.

As I drove home, back over the beckoning lake, I thought about who God might bring who would be willing to be the gentle arms of Jesus helping to steady this sweet woman's walk. Friends have so much power, both for evil and for good. We need to choose our friends wisely, but we all need friends. I read that teens with more than 2 "high risk" friends are in dire danger of choosing high risk behavior themselves. On the other hand, if the bulk of her friends are God seeking, pure, and wholesome kids, she is in less danger of becoming high risk, and can be a lifeline to the high risk friend. I thought of poor "K" surrounded by people who would drag her down. I prayed that instead, God would send the perfect friend to help her rise above the pit.

Is He calling you to be a friend today?

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If interested in helping support cities4life and their mission to help women who choose not to abort their children, please go to charlotte.cities4life.org
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Proverbs 18:24 

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 

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! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

John 15:13 

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Proverbs 27:17 

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Proverbs 17:17 

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 

Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.

1 Corinthians 15:33 

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 27:9 

Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.