I can count on the fingers of one hand the close friends I have had during my adulthood. I generally have one very good friend at each place to which we have moved, but not all of them were close friends, friends who were there for me no matter what. That’s why I think that number is limited. Sometimes, the friends were Christians and we encouraged each other in our faith. More frequently, they were not Christians, so I shared my faith with them when I could.

No matter our location, I always knew that my best friend was always there with me. Jesus traveled with me from state to state and base to base. He was with me when Harry was deployed and I was feeling overwhelmed and lonely. He was there during hospitalizations, tests and surgeries. He was there when our children were injured or when our car was hit head on in an accident. Note that we had NO serious injuries from a big truck hitting us head on as we drove to our Bible study that night. Baby Hope was safely in her car seat and slept through the whole thing. I had a bruised knee and my husband’s chest was bruised from the seat belt. Our car was totaled, but we were fine. Jesus was there, and we didn’t even have time to send up a prayer of “help”. He was already there.

I want to be a friend like Jesus. I am not omnipresent or omniscient or any of the other qualities that only God has. But I do want to be the kind of friend who will be there when I am called and who will stick with the person who needs me until the situation is resolved. Phone calls in the middle of the night aren’t convenient, but if God can be there for us all the time, I can be there for friends who need me. I look in the mirror and I am sometimes disappointed at how I have let others down. But I repent, ask God for help in the future and determine to do better and be a better friend. I want to have friends who love the Lord, like the ladies in our Bible study group who text frequently to check on each other and offer help when needed. Friendship is a two-way street. Jesus wants a relationship with us, not based on His power that He demonstrates on our behalf, but because of our mutual love for each other. That’s what true friendship is all about, mutual love that surpasses our selfish desires and meets the other person where their need is.