Being Grateful For The Best Friend Of A Lifetime

 I am thankful.

I am thankful for my friends, chosen sisters who walk my life with me.

Today I am thankful for one specific friend. She’s a humble friend who wouldn’t want me to share her name in this public place, but I long to tell you how special she is. To best honor her I’ll do so quietly and leave her nameless.

My friend is a prayer warrior. I know she pleads my case to God even when we haven’t talked in days. I can often feel the result of her heartfelt prayers- sometimes I just know she must have been praying for me. She is the first person I call when something happens because I know she’ll know just what to pray. She is confident in the strength and power of our God and she is unafraid to ask Him for anything. When she prays I can’t help but think of Abraham or Moses, those with a great and profound faith. Like them, she prays with fervor for others, and although what she asks for is often a great big request, she maintains a humility as she stands before God’s throne. Authority, anticipation of a faithful answer, and humility fill the same space within her, it’s something I admire and struggle to understand.

My friend is a friend to many women. She loves each of her friends in a way that is unique to them. It reminds me of how I love my children, loving each differently as they need to be loved and yet holding each relationship as equal in value. My friend knows how to love each of her friends the way they need. The other day I ran into another of her friends at the store. She said that God had brought my friend into her life exactly at the moment she needed her. That’s what I’ve thought too, time and time again, as I’ve thought about my friend. She was the first friend I made as I moved from Oregon to Washington. She came into my life just when I needed her, she made the move easy for me.

My friend is a great encourager. She knows me well enough to know what I need to do. She knows me well enough to know what I need to hear in order to do it. She encourages me to write. She encourages me to love. She encourages me to finish the paperwork so that I can adopt my niece and nephews. She encourages me to love God and spend time in His Word, in His Presence, and in prayer to Him. Her words truly give me courage in all these things. She doesn’t stop at telling me I can, she promises I will.

I often find myself wishing I had more time to spend with my friend. Hoping that I am the kind of friend to her that she has been to me. Wanting to tell her how special she is. Praying that she would know what a great Kingdom work she has done. I know my friend. I know she thinks of herself as one of the least in God’s Kingdom. Truly I can say to you, she is one of the greatest.

Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all–he is the greatest.”
~Luke 9:48

My hope would be that all of you have a friend like my friend. If that is the case then I encourage you to email this post to her and tell her what you think is great about her. And if you are someone who feels small in God’s Kingdom, if you fail to see your value, my prayer is that God would show you the great work you are doing loving your husband, raising your children, or praying for your friends.

Father in Heaven, I thank You for the many servants in Your Kingdom. I pray blessing on all those who question their value. Father, I pray You would reveal to each of us the mission you have set for us here to accomplish. I pray You would help us to see that we each have purpose and help us to live out that purpose daily for Your glory. I ask these things in the precious name of Jesus. Amen. 

Do you have a best friend? What do you like most about him or her?