Forever Kind of Friend…
By: Kelley Hinson
Psalm 25:14
“The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.”
I often talk about “quiet time” with the Lord and the benefits we gain from it in our relationship with Him. In a great deal of the material I have written, I reference it quite frequently and the value that we gain from this time is immeasurable. I say this because I have had times when things come to me that are…well…quite frankly, out of place. But what I feel is oddly timed, I believe is exactly what the Lord finds relevant for me to concentrate on, and exactly what He wants me to know.
My quiet time routine normally consists of reading a passage that I randomly select. My best-friend has a name for this…Bible roulette. Today I had chosen a passage that I was assigned for my Biblical Studies course on the Book of Acts. I always start in prayer for God to show me in this passage what it is He wants me to know and concentrate on. I read the passage, picked out all the details (the who, what, when, where). I broke it down into parts to separate the commands, actions, or ideas in the passage. Then I pick a verse or set of verses that are of the same thought, and I sit with it in contemplation of its meaning. It’s like a quiet conversation with God. I let my mind wander through the words and allow Him to show me what it is He wants me to know about it, then I write an entry in my journal about what I discover.
For one reason or another, God was not allowing me to concentrate on this passage today. What I came to realize during this time with Him was that He wanted me to concentrate on something else. Honestly, I was getting frustrated with myself, because I couldn’t keep my mind on what I thought was important to Him. What I had chosen to study and talk to him about. Then the thought hit me. “Maybe that isn’t what He wants you to think about today, Kelley Ann!!!!” So, I surrendered and let my mind engage with what it was that kept floating into my thoughts and kept interupting the process. I believe that He was having me think through the process of friendship today in my quiet time with Him. Every time I tried to engage with the verse I chose, my thoughts went right back to the steps of friendship. So, instead of continuing in frustration I simply said..”Go ahead Father, tell me what I need to know…”.
When you meet someone new, you take in their appearance. As a nurse, this is very natural for me. Part of my initial assessment is “What do I see when I look at my patient in the first encounter”, that has made its way into every encounter I have for the most part. If you know and love a nurse in your life you will understand this more. We notice how your breathing, the color or lack of color to your skin (“You look pale, are you feeling ok?), your eyes (“I can tell in your eyes you don’t feel good”), they seem to gravitate to how big the veins are in your arms or hands:). My kids always hated being the child of a nurse. They never got away with “playing sick”.
But! With normal people, they notice the more important details like, the way they stand, their posture, the color of their hair, their expression and demeanor. Are they smiling, calm, approachable? Depending on the results of your first impression, you do one of two things, you either engage or depart. The choice is yours to make. Let’s assume we engage in conversation with them. The next thing we do is start or join in with the conversation. Then we notice, the sound of their voice, the way they smile or not when they talk to you, if they look you in the eye, or look away. Are they paying attention to what you are saying, or do they appear distant and dismissive to your words? Is there a connection? Depending on those results, you move to the next level. Perhaps you enjoy you initial time with them and you make a coffee date or go to lunch. The next time you meet is when all the details start to emerge. You start to get to know the person they are. What they like, what they don’t like, what they do for a living, who their family is, do they have kids, a spouse? You learn all the small details of their life, and depending on this meeting or further meetings, you gain knowledge of everything that makes them who they are. It’s a continuous process of getting to know this person, and their value to you. You decide whether you want to nurture this friendship and learn more about them and continue it. You decide if you want to put the effort into this friendship becoming a deeper lasting, forever kind of friendship.
I began to see where God was taking me in this time with Him. He was showing me the value of these meetings. He wouldn’t allow it to become a task. These meetings are to deepen our relationship. He was telling me that continuous thoughtful meditation on His word nurtures our relationship and gives it much more texture and substance. I engaged with Him. I chose to let go of what I thought He wanted, my choice, and I let Him have control of our time together. I abandoned my will for His. He wanted my attention, although He had it, He wanted me to hear the sound of His voice, pay attention to what He was saying and respond to it. He wanted me to stop being dismissive of His choice of topic. When I did that, He made His way into the conversation, and there was a connection. It led me to discover who He is as a Father, a counselor, and a friend.
