Thankful Thursday

 

Happy Thursday, friends! I hope you've had a good week. 

My week has been good, but it's been laden with sadness at the news of an old friend of our younger sons who passed away a few days ago. He was so young! Is death ever not tragic? I don't know the answer to that; I've been so burdened for the friend of mine whose son it was. I cannot even imagine the unfathomable pain she is in. Strange though this may sound, she was who I was thinking about as I wrote this post last night. I am so thankful for the gift of godly friends, and especially the ones who pray and stand in the gap for those who are hurting. I've been on the receiving end of that way too many times to count; the very least I can do is pass that on to someone in their own time of need. 

Most of us have experienced tremendous loss like this, even if not to this painful extent of losing a child. If you're anything like me, do you ever battle over what to say? Or think about whether or not you should reach out to them at all? I struggle with that all the time, and that has been the case this week. If I could extend some advice to you, it would be this: make the effort and reach out to someone that's hurting. Even if you don't know what to say to them, offer them the gift of your prayers, or a more tangible gift of food. If you're a believer and follower of Jesus, this is what the church (the family of God, not a building) does. 

A friend and I were talking about this at church Wednesday night. She had been battling the same thoughts of whether or not to reach out, and if so, what to say. I reached out to my friend yesterday morning, after I just could not get her off of my mind. I'd been having my quiet time at the kitchen table, and before I started reading the Bible for that day, I began with prayer; and before I even knew it, I was praying for their family. I've gone to bed for two days in a row with them on my mind, and I've woken up thinking about them. When I texted with her yesterday, all I said was that I was there for her if she needed someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on. I offered to bring a meal or anything else she could think of, and she promised she would let me know if she needed anything. I suppose she won't do that, though, and I plan on reaching out to her again after some of the shock has faded. Then again, maybe the shock won't fade for a long time. I'm going to do my best to try to keep reaching out to her as time goes on. I know she has friends, but I want her to know that she has another one in me, even if it's been a while since I last saw her. 

All of this to say, I am thankful for friends and for the gift that prayer is to me, and to others. I never want to take that for granted! Life is hard, friends. Sometimes I shake my head over myself and the ridiculous things that I sometimes consider "problems". What I often think may be a problem really isn't at all, not in the grand scheme of life. I know we all go through things, and those do sometimes seem like a really big deal; but something like this always sheds a little perspective on the matter. I don't know how I could ever get through life if I didn't walk closely with Jesus! If you don't know Him like this and ever want to talk more to someone about Him or how to have a relationship with Him, don't hesitate to reach out to me. You can always comment here or email me at allboys@gmail.com..

Thanks for reading my blog today, friends. Love to all. 

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