Me: Looks like you got some fine friends there.

Prodigal: I sure do!

This is from the book How Can I Find You, God? by Majorie Holmes

People need each other so much, God. We need you, but we need each other, too. In a very human sense we need each other.

You don’t want us to be lonely, you give us people, many people (too many sometimes!). And out of the many you lead us to the few, the precious few we can really talk to.

And as we talk about things that really matter–troubles, hopes, confidences, things we wouldn’t dare share with anyone else–we go deeper. With a friend like this, who loves and understand us, we begin to talk about like and its meaning.

We talk about you.

Sometimes we discover you together. Two children groping, stumbling upon exciting aspects of your nature we couldn’t have found alone. And we look at each other amazed and marveling.

Or one of us will lead the other. The wise one (not necessarily the older) who has known you longer and more constantly, or more vividly experienced you….And this is so wonderful, to have a friend, man or woman, who walks confidently on his or her spiritual journey and says, “Come on, don’t be afraid.” Who, without preaching or inferring superiority, will help to clear the path and guide the way.

I have such a friend, Lord. I have several such friends. How can I ever thank you enough for them? They are surely a part of your plan for drawing each of us back to you.

Psalm 119:105

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path

Jennifer Van Allen

www.theprodigalpig.com

www.faithincounseling.org