Lifelong friends

Our Measurements conference ended Friday. Some will stay a few more days for additional training. I’m now sitting in Manchester Airport waiting for Kay’s flight to arrive from the U.S. I’m reflecting on the power of going through life with friends.

I spent Saturday afternoon with great friends John and Lynn. John and Kay and I went to school together.

Daniel is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah were friends who went through Babylonian captivity together. Their fellowship gave them strength to remain pure in God’s call on their lives.

Friends do that. Lifelong friends help each other make sense out of God’s workings in our lives. The go through trials together. They strengthen one another.

So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death. [Daniel 2:13]
…
Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. [Daniel 2:17]

Some other thoughts on friends:

[Proverbs 17:17] A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

[Proverbs 18:24] A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

[Proverbs 27:9]: Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of one’s friend springs from his earnest counsel.

[Eccles. 4:10]: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

That’s how John and Lynn go through life with Kay and me. We’ve trusted God for ministry victories while students at Texas A&M. We’ve shared experiences in Africa together although separated by the entire continent most of our time there. Now we are sharing together as our children launch out into their lives, working through the 3 big issues all of us sort through: life’s Master, life’s mate, and life’s mission.

It’s great to go through life with friends.