My Friend for a Season
By Susan Klein
“A friend loves at all times.”
Proverbs 17:17a ( NIV)
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.
