Genuine friendship is a gift to treasure.
To proffer the hand of friendship to another is to offer yourself in support of their wellbeing, and open yourself to reciprocal attention, care and concern.
Feeling heard and understood is rare in a world that is often too busy to listen or too indifferent to care.
Multiple connection points are provided, but true friendship is a gift of grace.
When it’s all about what you do, who you are, what you look like and who you know, it provokes competitiveness, discouragement and despair at not fitting in with the world’s perceptions of who they think we should be.
As we get assessed, found wanting and bypassed, we can easily feel isolated, rejected and neglected.
So where does our security lie? Is it in the numbers of followers, fans, ‘likes’ and comments we receive?
No, far from it. It’s a shaky foundation indeed to build our self-esteem on other people’s fluctuating, fickle feelings.
Though it’s not all bad news on social media; it does have its positive side regarding friendships.
I’ve been greatly blessed by the wonderful on-line community of writers, poets and bloggers, M.E and chronic illness sufferers, and fellow Christians I have got to know and consider to be real friends.
They are genuine, giving and caring people who lift, encourage and help me come up higher. I thank God daily for them.
And I’ve been bruised by putting too much store on how people in general interact with me.
There is only one friend who will never let us down, always be there for us, consistently reliable, capable, loving unconditionally despite knowing all there is to know about us.
His Name is Jesus.
Our greatest Friend, Lord and Saviour.
And as my real life friendships often fall foul of the challenges presented by my having M.E ~ finding it hard to never know when I’ll be well enough to speak on the phone, be visited, or meet up ~ it is His friendship that means the most to me.
I’m joining here with Lisa Jo and other brave writerly souls for the challenge of Five Minute Friday, where we write freely, letting words fall as they will with no deep reflecting, on this week’s topic of ‘Friend’. You are very welcome and warmly invited to take part.
START…
‘Our Friend’
This friend
has arms stretched wide
forming an extended circle
of Love for you and me
This friend
calls us to His side
forming a fellowship of grace
as brothers, sisters, community
This friend
provides a safe place to hide
when life’s storms overwhelm
He is shelter from all harm
and balm for every calamity
This friend
will brook no boast or pride
in knowing Him, for all
are welcome to enter in
embraced, held, received
This friend
is Rock against the tide
of sin and shame
taking all upon Himself
when He died and rose again
to set us free
©JoyLenton2014
STOP.
Visiting from FMF! So wonderfully written! What a great reminder for us all! Thank-you!
Thank you for visiting and leaving an encouraging comment! I’m glad this has blessed you. 🙂
Beautiful, Joy! God bless.
Thank you, Mary! I’m pleased this spoke to you. Blessings to you too. 🙂
Your work is always a blessing to read joy and seeing the photo here of the rocks is a great reminder that they don’t tend to move to often but there is one who is higher and that is the friend you speak of the Rock we know as the immovable one is Jesus; so nice knowing he’s our friend to always turn too.
It is such a reassurance to know we can always rely on our immovable, unchanging, ever faithful Friend! Jesus is the Rock we lean and depend on in every circumstance of life. Bless you, Maxine. You are an encouraging friend to know too! 🙂 x