Friday, September 1, 2017

My Friend for a Season
By Susan Klein

“A friend loves at all times.”

Sitting across from a dear friend at the coffee shop, I was burdened with conflicting emotions. Here was someone I’d known for nine years but as more of an acquaintance than a friend. Only through a recent tragic event in her life had our relationship taken on deeper roots. I was savoring the sweet sharing time we were having, yet simultaneously dreading the thought of having to say good-bye to her. She is moving to another state in a couple of weeks.

More times than I care to count, this seems to be the case in my life. God brings me into sweet fellowship with someone, then He removes her from my life. While technology makes it easier than ever to remain somewhat connected, it doesn’t replace actually doing life together. Like most women, I immensely value good, long-lasting relationships. God knows this about me, yet He often seems to have other plans for the people He places in my life. Perhaps you’ve experienced how it feels to invest in a deep friendship, become transparent and real, and share in the messiness, only to have that person abruptly uprooted and deposited elsewhere. It can be gut-wrenching!

While steeping in my silent pity party, I asked God why He’d allowed for us to become such good friends so late in the game, knowing it would be short-lived. His answer came while she and I prayed together. As she spoke to God, thanking Him for placing me in her life at just the right time - - a time when she needed a friend who could truly understand and empathize with her circumstances - - I realized how selfish my perspective had been. This friendship wasn’t about me and my needs, it was about how God had equipped me to provide for a need in her life at a time when she really needed it. It was a divine appointment, by God, to be a friend for a specific season of this woman’s life.

Keeping that perspective has helped me to look back at other “friends for a season” in a refreshingly new light. I am grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to shared myself with each of them and blessed to have received their investment in me, for however short a time it may have been. I also have the comfort of knowing that while our time here on earth is but a breath (Psalm 39:5), we will all share eternity together in the presence of One who is greater than a friend!

GOING DEEPER:
1.      How are you investing in the lives of women God has in your life right now?

FURTHER READING:

Susan is married to Mark, and has two adult children. She enjoys teaching Bible studies, writing, and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She is a member of the Peace Team at Oakwood and also co-leads an on-site small group.