It’s great, isn’t it, when we meet up again with old friends we haven’t seen for ages and the connection is just as warm and close as it ever was. It’s like everything else falls away and we are once again appreciated essentially for who we are, irrespective of anything we have achieved in life. The friendship is real, reaching across time and distance. We feel valued, loved – and our hearts melt.
Last week I held the book launch for my third novel ‘Laura’. One friend who attended has known me for around forty-five years. We were at high school together, but lost track of each other for over forty years. Then around three years ago, she managed to find me again – and our friendship has become even stronger, as we mutually support each other in our various endeavours. In fact, she was the one who originally invited me to a holiday camp as a teenager where I discovered for myself how Jesus Christ loved me so much and gave himself for me. At that camp, the best friendship of all began for me, as I came to understand what it really means to be a child of God and to be welcomed back with open arms into his family. Just like the lost son in Luke 15 in the bible, I knew I had come home to where I belonged.
Many of my other friends who celebrated the release of ‘Laura’ with me have attended all three of my book launches in recent years. They have hung in there with me, faithfully supporting me as I pursue my literary endeavours, cheering me on as I seek to bring my dreams into reality and do what I believe God has called me to do at this stage of my life. They have stuck with me – and I am so grateful. And whether my faithful friends know it or not, they mirror God’s own faithfulness and love to me – a love that will never come to an end and will see me through all the ups and downs, all the disappointments and successes of my life. That is exactly what God promised thousands of years ago to Joshua:
As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)
Whatever happens, it is so reassuring to know that God is in it all with me for the long haul. I will never be forsaken – and in turn, I don’t plan to forsake God. I’m in it for the long haul too. I truly want to be ‘God’s friend’, as Abraham was called, to the very end (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:23).
How about you?
Jo-Anne Berthelsen's Blog 