I had the honor of being in the tangible soul-field of a true friend yesterday. As I listened to how this beautiful believer held out hope to her friend in need this week, I was compelled to tell her story, and by doing so, share her light.
Without naming names, or medical specifics, in honor of their peace and privacy, I’d like to most importantly try to communicate (for only she really can), her true-life experience that God is real, His power is present, and His Word is balm. Even though this wonderful woman manages marriage, her own busy hair salon, two delightful daughters and numerous pets daily, she didn’t think twice about accompanying her friend on short notice on an out-of-state hospital quest for answers to a brain condition that left her friend worried, depleted, and at times hallucinogenic.
Through the connected days and nights this dear friend served bed-side, she told me that she periodically needed to step out of the room to pray for more strength from God. It filled her with the wisdom that every moment she was offering support, delivering news to family, or supplying her friend’s needs…she did nothing by her own strength. She knew God led her, equipped her, and sustained her for this mission. Best of all, during one of the most difficult periods of her friend’s pain, she reached beyond her own reserves of reassurance, and straight into her Bible for words that heal. Stroking her friend’s arms with a loving touch, she prayed the Psalms over her…and God filled the room. He physically calmed her tremors, renewed her peace, and ushered in remarkable resilience over the next few days.
This true friend is a woman who cared to make God real, not to fuel her own desires, or even her immediate needs…for the sake of her friend. A friend like this who surrounds you with scripture and loves at all times, is as Proverbs 17:17 reminds us, born to handle adversity with grace. Thank you, sweet friend, for sharing your courage as you talked, not knowing how much you illuminate that God is with us, and only He knows the timing of our pain and our healing, whether on earth or in heaven. His Word is living, powerful and a blessing. Like the truest friend of all.
In His Love,
Lia
