Thank you for being a friend …

The other day I received the most amazing gift. Out of the blue I received a text message from a woman I know but had not talked to in months and months. This friend reached out to me to ask if we could arrange a virtual visit. When her face popped up on the screen I could not stop smiling. Both of us had aged a year (smile) and it was so good to see her face! We spent the next hour catching up and sharing what had taken place in our lives over this last crazy year of 2020. It reminded me of a time when relationships were free and there was no “cost” to spending time together. How quickly I have forgotten the joy of being with others I enjoy.

As our time began to wind down, my friend mentioned to me that there was a reason why she wanted to reach out. She then proceeded to read to me a letter that she had written. It was obvious from the first few words of her letter that a lot of time and thought had gone into this letter. By the time she finished reading I was literally in tears. This friend had given me the most amazing gift … She had taken the time to sit down and think through the ways in which I had impacted her life over the last number of years. Her statements were not general vague statements but rather well thought out specific statements and memories. As the two of us took a little walk down memory lane, we both marveled at how God had intervened, grown fruit, used our gifts and talents – and at times meager gifts of obedience – to expand the Kingdom of God and to mold and grow our hearts and minds.

When was the last time someone took the time to thank you specifically for the ways in which you have impacted their life? Maybe I am unique but that is rare in my life. When is the last time I took the time to bless someone else with my words of thanks? It is one thing to appreciate a friend or to thank someone for a meal they brought you, or a small group they have led, it is quite another thing to actually take the time (and courage) to specifically name the ways in which that person has impact you.

There have been thousands of words that have been said and written over the last 12 months regarding how we have been isolated, “stuck at home”, settled for virtual gatherings, social distanced, lost community, missed gathering together. We all feel it and have experienced it in a deep and personal way. But in that moment with my friend, I felt as though God was smiling with me, feeling my deep appreciation for the words that were spoken to and over me. It as almost as though my friend had extended a blessing over me and blown the breath of God in my direction.

It reminded me of the powerful words of Paul in the book of Philippians:

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart, for you are all partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. (ESV)

We all need to be reminded the ways in which we have touched another.

We all need to be reminded that God is not done with us yet.

We all need to hear words of affirmation and blessing.

When was the last time you took the time to think about those in whom you are thankful? It takes time, courage, vulnerability and self searching to get out of our heads and appreciate others.

Who might God be laying on your heart to reach out to?

It is so worth it…

To add blessing upon blessing, later that afternoon, I received these gorgeous flowers as a second “thank you” from my friend.