Day 37: Sink-Hole

“A friend loves at all times.” Proverbs 17:17

Tonight I hit a bump in the road.

Not the fun kind of whoopti-do that makes your stomach drop with excitement, but something more accurately depicted as a sink-hole. A familiar place in the road that once was smooth, but that the rains of the season have weakened and the constant travel back and forth over the same stretch of road have buffeted, and now the paved road has given way to cracks, puddles, and a spine –jarring experience for those who travel there.

I could see the bump coming, and tried to swerve appropriately, and perhaps coulda, woulda, and shoulda chose another road, but there I traveled nonetheless, hoping perhaps previous road repairs had smoothed and corrected the damage, but there I landed jarred and shaken by that same old sink-hole. I sat frozen and confused, mumbling at God, while the shock set it, and realized that I needed the services of a good emotional tow: Automobile club for the heart, soul, and mind. I could spin my wheels in the grit, gravel, and mud of my sink-hole or I could call out for a friend with a strong hand and a mighty heart.

And so I did.

I could not call just anybody. I could not call somebody who would be shocked by how I had again ended up in a sink-hole, grumbling about my inability to navigate properly, or my foolishness at not knowing that there was a sink-hole on that particular road. I needed someone with the right equipment. Someone who would say, “Wow that is an ugly sink-hole, I have spun my wheels in one or two just like that myself. As a matter of fact, I think you might have helped tow me out a time or two. Don’t worry, I know you, we’ll be able to get you out of there.” And all the while, they are hooking up just the right kind of tow cable to help yank me to freedom.

Sweet and soothing words came through my phone, and an invitation to explain the dynamics of just what I experienced as I hit the bump. She listened carefully, not assuming she understood just exactly what kind of damage the bump might have done, and then wisely and expertly she attached a tow cable made of the strongest materials of empathy, encouragement, and prayer and pulled my wheels from the muck.


Lord,

You have made us for relationship, and you have made relationships for us. I thank you ever so heartily, that when I need You in the flesh, You are there in the form of a godly and faithful friend. May I be a friend who is available to lend my heart and my hand, even as my dear friend did for me tonight.

Your Beloved