GOD ORDAINED FRIENDSHIPS
Syb Brodie
Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘The Lord is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town. 1 Samuel 20:42
I know that all happenings and meetings of friends in our lives have been ordained by God. Most of them happened gradually over time and every one of them has brought me a special blessing.
What I am referring to here is – have you ever felt a time when you were aware of the exact timing of a God ordained meeting? Meetings where you met someone whom you felt you had known all your life, and an immediate bond of friendship formed that you knew would last though time immortal.
I have had that happen a few times over the years, a kinship that became a lasting friendship pre-arranged by God for reasons I now can see. For the sake of space, I am only able to relate two such meetings that led to these friendships.
The first (not according to date or time) was my meeting with Lorraine Payette who writes “Scuttlebutt From the Pulpit” for the Terrace Bay Newspaper. Lorraine has survived addictions to alcoholism and drugs, depression, incarceration, along with her first husbands suicide. Survival came only through the miracle of turning her life over to Christ. Since that time He has used her in amazing ways through her involvement in Alcoholics Anonymous and through them, her writing and speaking engagements in Canada and the States.
I first heard about Lorraine when visiting my sister Maxine who showed me one of Lorraine’s articles in the Terrace Bay newspaper. After reading it I immediately wanted to read more and to meet her since she lived in the next town. I got her email address after an attempt to meet her where she worked was not possible at that time. I emailed her a request for her weekly articles to be emailed to me and she happily acknowledged this and so our friendship began.
We spoke a few times by phone and met when I was visiting in Terrace Bay and now usually by Zoom. A kinship born through our love of writing and for our Lord Jesus has created a special bond.
I feature Lorraine’s articles in my EncouraGem, and have featured one today called ‘The Friendship Bench’. Lorraine has a special gift of putting her love for others on paper. We have sat on that friendship bench together for some time now, with no end in sight.
The second ordained meeting was with Craig & Glenn Pitts along with their wives Dorothy & Janet. I was on my way home from Mississauga and stopped in at a Wendy’s in Barrie for lunch. I got my lunch and headed over to a table near a window, where I sat – bowed my head and thanked the Lord for the food He was providing for me, before beginning to eat my meal.
To my left was a table where four people sat with their lunches almost finished. Craig’s wife Dorothy came over to my table and said “We noticed you praying are you a Christian?” I said “Yes I am a born again Christian”. She said “We are too and my husband is a pastor and his brother Glenn and his wife Janet are missionaries. Craig and I would like to give you this gift of a book he wrote on a dream he called ‘Eternal Ink’, plus here is a little note book for you.”
I was literally blown away with not only the physical gifts to me a complete stranger, but the gift of love and encouragement that God had given me at a time when my spirits were low. I suddenly felt a giddy joy overtake me as we traded books (I got mine out of my car) and emails, and chatted like we had been old friends for years. With my spirits soaring, my trip home was in song and praise to God.
After I read Eternal Ink, I got in touch with Craig to get some of his books to give as gifts, and did so again before this Christmas as I found them such an encouragement in our daily walk with Jesus.
I found out Glenn wrote weekly articles by email called ‘The Monday Memo’. I now send him my EncouraGem and he in turn sends me his weekly articles. I also feature Glenn’s articles in EncouraGem as they are filled with wisdom, encouragement and teachings on how God is working in this chaotic world. I found it very encouraging that Glenn left for a mission trip to Nicaragua on February 28th on his 79th birthday! Jesus can use us at any age as long as we are willing.
Craig gifted me with two more of his books – “The Seven Defeats of Satan” and “From Eternity to Eternity.” The first he talks about Satan’s losing team and Jesus’ winning team. His quote on the back-
“Join us on the winning team!”
Thank you Jesus for placing me on the ‘winning’ team with such encouraging teammates!