Month: July 2023

44) Perfect Friendship

“What a friend we have in Jesus…” begins the old hymn proclaiming the great gift of friendship with God.  I’ve been  thinking about friendship a lot lately, as some long time friends are being lost through death or dementia.  

    “Faithful friends are a sturdy shelter; whoever finds one finds a treasure.  Faithful friends are beyond price, no amount can balance their worth.  Faithful friends are life-saving medicine; those who fear God will find them.” (Sirach. 6:14-16)

     What a blessing it is to have true friends with whom I can really be myself, and not have to filter my words for fear of their disapproval or rejection.  “Whoever finds one, finds a treasure” is the quote from Sirach, and indeed to have even one friend such as this is priceless.

     The quote from George Sand comes to mind here:

     “O the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of feeling safe with a person, having to neither weigh thoughts nor measure words, but to pour them all out, just as they, are, chaff and grain together, knowing that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then, with a breath of kindness, blow the rest away.”

     I’ve been blessed to have a few such friends in my 77 years, and am so grateful to God for bringing them into my life.  Yet even the very best of these cannot match the friendship I have with Christ, the only One with Whom I feel completely safe.  My human frailty has caused me to hurt even those whom I most love, and to be misunderstood and rejected by some with whom I have been most transparent and vulnerable.  We live in  an imperfect world this side of eternity, and the need to live a forgiving life is essential.  Even our best intentions may be mis-guided, causing pain and suffering where we meant to bring love.

      This brings me to the perfect Friend, the One Whose constant and faithful love holds me close, and Whose corrections when offered are always done in love and gentleness.  I have found the pearl of great price, the treasure in the field – Jesus!  Or rather, He found me, and He won’t let me go!   

Thank you Lord, for the gift of human and divine friendship!  May my friendship with You teach me how to be a better friend to my human companions on the journey, and point the way to perfect friendship, one with the Trinity…

43: Genesis 49: Joseph’s grudge

     Forgiveness – over and over again, I come across the declaration that the greatest block to God’s grace is unforgiveness.  And God’s grace is such a tremendous gift, even necessity, to live this life in peace and happiness!  Peace, in the midst of whatever circumstance I find myself ~ as the old Quaker hymn asserts, “no storm can shake my inmost calm, when to that Rock I’m clinging.  If love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?”  If Love is Lord – and it is from this Love that I receive the grace I desire to be at peace in my soul.

     At Mass this morning, our pastor related the story of a husband and wife who had a typical minor misunderstanding in their relationship.  What made it major however, was the reaction of the wife – she exploded in anger over her perceived injury.  The husband’s response stopped her in her tracks, as he asked, “How long have you been carrying that?”  Being a psychologist and one who helps others deal with their issues helped her to stop and understand the deeper message given to her, which showed an area of accumulated resentments, or grudges, that had been allowed to build up until it burst forth all out of proportion.

     Our pastor tied this in to Joseph’s brothers’ fear that Joseph was holding a grudge and that he would retaliate for the wrong that his brothers had done to him by selling him into slavery.  Joseph however had received God’s grace to recognize that what his brothers had meant for harm, God had used for good. He held no grudge against his brothers.  Indeed, God had used their sin to save their lives, and the lives of many others from starvation in the time of famine. Joseph didn’t hate them and would do them no harm.

     To hold a grudge, to harbor resentments, is like a daily dose of poison that accumulates in my body until it reaches a toxicity that causes an explosion, harming not only me but anyone who happens to get in the way.  Unforgiveness, how very deadly it is to my own well being, and often to those I love dearly!

     The antidote?  To keep a short account, to acknowledge and confess my sins as soon as I’m aware of them.  To do this, I need to take the time daily, or even more often, to reflect on the day’s happenings and take note of any area of resentment that may have cropped up!  And then to let it go, by God’s grace, along with a blessing for whatever triggered the resentment.  To douse the sparks before they grow into a deadly fire!

     Thank you Lord, for Your Word, that teaches me the best response in times of daily struggles.  May I be sensitive to the Spirit, Who enables me to recognize and let go of any potential resentments or grudges before they become deadly. I desire to live a forgiving life Lord, and be an agent of Your peace and mercy in this world….