Dearest of Friends

I ran into an old friend at work yesterday. We may have had wrinkles in places we didn't the last time we saw each other, pounds lost or gained, a new gray hair or two or three, but the smiles we gave each other were the same. The hug we exchanged was as though we'd seen each other maybe a month ago rather than eight years ago. It's a precious, unexpected gift to run into an old friend like that, to be able to pick up the friendship and affection where you left off. That meeting truly blessed my heart and made my day.

It also made me think of another friendship in my life -- that with my Savior. I'm not proud to admit it, but there have certainly been times when I've allowed myself to lose touch with Him. I get so caught up in the everyday mundane busyness of life -- go to work, clean the house, take care of my family, read books, go to movies, talk to friends on the phone -- and find myself forgetting to make sure time with God is on my calendar. I show up at church on Sunday and think "I know I didn't talk to You much this week, Jesus, but I'm here now. You have my attention for the next 90 minutes or so. That's better than nothing right?" I sing the praise songs with the rest of the congregation, listen to the sermon and take studious notes, planning to do better this week. Maybe for awhile I even do, until complacency once again takes over, and I try to do things my way, make time for God on my schedule. Then when things fall apart or run a muck or just generally become too much for me to try to handle or make sense of on my own, I call out to my forgotten Friend, wanting Him to step in and reassure me and make everything good and right again.

My Friend would have every right to scoff at my overtures of friendship. He's been waiting for me day by day to give him at least a polite hello or even a passing glance in His general direction, and I've blown Him off time and time again in favor of commitments that seemed more pressing or entertainments that seemed more enticing. He has every right to say "Who are you again?" or "Now you expect Me to have time for you? Too bad, I'm busy." But that's not who my Jesus is. That's not the nature of friendship with the Son of God. Instead, He holds His arms out wide to embrace me and says "My Friend, how I've missed you. I'm so happy to see you." He welcomes me with love and affection as though we were never estranged, the dearest of old friends.

"My intercessor is my friend as my eyes pour out tears to God; 

on behalf of a man he pleads with God as one pleads for a friend." 

Job 16:20-21