Gentle Friendship

On this night, a lifelong friend is on my heart and on my mind. Since he is not one to draw attention to himself, I am asking for his forgiveness in advance for shining a spotlight on him tonight.

I met this friend when I was about 11 years-old. He lived next door with his beautiful wife and four rambunctious little boys. I would see him arrive at home after he had worked all day. On many evenings, I would show up on their doorstep to ask if Dan could come out to play. He shared the gift of his time by coming over to play basketball with me in my backyard. Even then, I admired his quiet strength, his gentle spirit, and the ever present sparkle in his eyes. He always accepted me for exactly who I was, even during those awkward, pre-teen days.

Eventually, these dear friends moved to another area of town, and I lost my afternoon basketball buddy. But, it was always the same when we got back together, even after I was away serving in the Air Force for many years.

When I retired from the Air Force in 1995, I returned to my home area and became the pianist at the church where Nancy (the one who forgave me for taking her husband's attention after she had been with four little boys all day and desperately needed some relief!) and Dan were members. So, over the last 15 years, we have had many more opportunities to spend time together, and to enjoy conversations at the piano bench where I "reside".

Even tonight, when I learned that Dan is facing some major surgery this week, he took the time to stop by the piano to say a kind word and to give me a gentle hug as he knew that my heart was heavy over some uncertain circumstances of my own.

I want to share a quote that I read tonight:

"I will believe that what God has placed inside me is superior to the mountains that stand in my way." I believe that God will put a quiet, unwavering courage and strength inside of Dan this week. I am praying that this courage and strength will be evident to all who are in his path, and that people will stand in awe of what God chooses to do in the coming days.

Hebrews 4:16 - Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Proverbs 17:17 - A friend loves at all times...

Dan, know that my heart is with you as you face this week. Please get well soon, as an old friend may show up on your doorstep, asking if you can come outside and play. You wouldn't want to disappoint her after all of these years.

The Rest of the Story

I have a confession on this Tuesday morning. I struggle with the concept of rest. Somehow, it just evades my realm of understanding. For example, I am finally propped up on the couch in our living room as I am taking a sick day due to terrible congestion. But, you would be amazed at how long it took me to allow myself to do this. First, I felt that I "had" to finish emptying my suitcase and make-up bag from a weekend trip. (After all, there were just a few things left to be unpacked and put away! ). Then, there was a load of clothes that "had" to be put in the wash. According to me, the dishwasher "had" to be emptied. And, of course, before I propped up on the couch, I "had" to gather things that I might need.....tissues, trash can, books, paper, pen, highlighter, a drink, laptop computer, cell phone.....You get the idea.

As I ate my breakfast, I read Psalm 23. After all of these years, a word jumped off the page and penetrated my being. The word was "make". "He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still (quiet) waters, He restores my soul." That spoke to me as it takes someone making me to lie down for me to do it. And, it is no surprise (even to "rest challenged" people like me) that the lying down and resting part of the chapter comes before the part about restoring my soul. How can my soul be restored if I am exhausted from stubbornly refusing to allow myself to rest? Simply put, we need rest in order to be restored. In theory, I "get" that.

But, my lifestyle clearly indicates that I do not.

As I am propped up here in front of a window in my living room, I see that some snowflakes are beginning to fall. It occurs to me that we consider snow to be beautiful when it is just "resting" on the ground. There is no self imposed requirement for the snow to accomplish a certain number of things before it lies there in its blanket of radiance.

There is a loving Shepherd who longs for us to lie down and rest in the pasture that He has carefully and lovingly prepared for us. As Max Lucado points out, "His pasture is His gift to us."

Why is it such a struggle to give ourselves permission to accept this wonderful gift?

As I prepare to have two needle biopsies tomorrow, I am going to make a conscious effort to allow myself to accept the Shepherd's gift of rest.

Psalm 91:1 - He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

As Paul Harvey always said, "That's the rest of the story"!