LOVE finds a friend

Reading Bible stories with a few of my little friends.

After one especially difficult morning, I crumpled onto the floor, leaned against the porch railing, and cried out to the Lord. “I just want a friend in this moment, God! I just need to talk to a friend.” And I distinctly heard His reply: “Come to My house; I am waiting here for you.” In my stubbornness and self-pity, I argued with Him for a few minutes before relenting, shoving my Bible in a bag, and heading off to the church. It was mid-afternoon and still bright inside the stone building. I saw a young woman praying in one of the first pews, someone I’d never seen before, but I wanted to be alone so I moved further towards the back. I knelt down and, feeling very sorry for myself, rested my head on my folded arms and let myself cry.

If I wrote a book on life as a foreign missionary, the title would be You’re Never Alone. And if you follow my blog, you probably understand why. It seems every time I make an attempt to have silent prayer time, Jesus sends someone my way. On this particular occasion, I was approached by the young woman who first caught my eye when I entered the church.

“Hello! What’s the matter? Oh, why are you crying?” she wants to know. I try to explain to her in very general terms that I have a few small problems, but I am okay.

“I was just crying, too,” she admits to me. “My boyfriend......he died at 2 a.m.” I am completely taken aback by this confession and invite her to come sit down next to me. For the next half hour or so, Rochelle and I talk. She shares her story of their love, his death, and her feeling compelled this afternoon to come to the church in search of answers.

“When I saw you, sister, I thought you might have some wisdom or advice to share with me.” Well, I am not a nun, as she and many other people here sometimes suppose, but Jesus has brought me here in this moment to minister to her. I share with her the prophet Jeremiah’s words about the plans that God has for her life - plans for a future full of hope, although it may at this time be hard for her to see or understand them. We pray together and ask the Lord to comfort her in this time of grief. Rochelle explains to me that she shared the news of her boyfriend’s death with her friends at school, but they could not really empathize with her because they have never experienced such a painful loss.

“It’s true,” I agree. “Oftentimes other people cannot understand the pain that we feel. But He can,” and I point to the crucifix hanging above the altar, to the bloodied head and limbs of Jesus. “That’s why I come here. He has experienced all that pain before. And Mama Mary, His Mother, knows what it is like to lose someone. She was there at the cross when He died.”

Rochelle and I talk for a while longer, marveling at God’s goodness for orchestrating our “chance” meeting in the church. We each have our problems. We each came to the church looking for friendship, understanding, and support. And God answered our prayers.

Psalm 34 says: “The Lord is close to the broken-hearted.” Bring your problems, your messy and broken heart to Jesus today, and allow Him to heal you!