You've Got A Friend In Me
As many of you know, this past weekend marked yet another edition of Skiriffic here in Cold Lake. As one who has attended every Skiriffic from its inception about 8 years ago, I believe that this was the best one yet. Any time about 350 teens are brought together in a small community such as we live in to hear the Gospel message is a success by any standards. But as much as I enjoyed Skiriffic itself, this was not what had the greatest impact on me. As much fun as I had playing in the worship band, it was the time spent with friends throughout the weekend that was the most meaningful to me.
As most of you probably know, many of my close friends have left the sprawling metropolis of Cold Lake to pursue studies elsewhere, while I have remained at home in order to work and save enough money to do so myself. In short, it has been somewhat of a lonely year for myself. But this is not a pity story in the least, as in the absence of many of my close friends, I have grown into a much deeper and meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. But what this weekend has really taught me is not to take my friendships for granted, and to cherish every moment spent in the company of my Christian friends.
The importance of friends is one which Jesus himself clearly saw great value in. In his book "The Jesus I Never Knew" (which, by the way, is an incredible book, and I highly recommend it to everyone!), Philip Yancey writes in reference to the disciples: "Why does Jesus invest so much time in these apparent losers? To answer that, I turn to Mark's written account, which mentions Jesus' motives in choosing the Twelve: 'That they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.' That they might be with him. Jesus never tried to hide his loneliness and his dependence on other people. He chose his disciples not as servants but as friends. He shared moments of joy and grief with them, and asked for them in times of need. They became his family, his substitute mother and brothers and sisters. They gave up everything for him, as he had given up everything for them. He loved them, plain and simple." If a circle of close friends was something that Jesus felt was this important, how much more then do we, as mere humans, require the close bonds of friendship?
As I'm sure you all know, this past year was one filled with sorrow and suffering for me, but through God's provision and help I was able to persevere and even grow in my faith through it all. I now realize that one of the ways that God provided for me during these tough times was by providing me with a group of friends that stood by me through it all. They didn't have to say anything, just being around them helped take my mind off of the troubles I was going through. I didn't recognize it as God's provision for me at the time, but looking back, I don't know how I would have handled it without the love and support of my friends. This is something that I am truly grateful for, and wish to express my extreme gratitude to them. It is my hope that I can in turn be there for them when life throws them a curve ball. To sum it all up, this weekend was a great time of refreshing for myself, as almost all of my good friends came together for a weekend of good times and awkward moments (courtesy of Newman). It is my hope that I will never take my friendships for granted, and that regardless of where life leads each of us, our friendships will be the one thing that remains constant.
As most of you probably know, many of my close friends have left the sprawling metropolis of Cold Lake to pursue studies elsewhere, while I have remained at home in order to work and save enough money to do so myself. In short, it has been somewhat of a lonely year for myself. But this is not a pity story in the least, as in the absence of many of my close friends, I have grown into a much deeper and meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ. But what this weekend has really taught me is not to take my friendships for granted, and to cherish every moment spent in the company of my Christian friends.
The importance of friends is one which Jesus himself clearly saw great value in. In his book "The Jesus I Never Knew" (which, by the way, is an incredible book, and I highly recommend it to everyone!), Philip Yancey writes in reference to the disciples: "Why does Jesus invest so much time in these apparent losers? To answer that, I turn to Mark's written account, which mentions Jesus' motives in choosing the Twelve: 'That they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach.' That they might be with him. Jesus never tried to hide his loneliness and his dependence on other people. He chose his disciples not as servants but as friends. He shared moments of joy and grief with them, and asked for them in times of need. They became his family, his substitute mother and brothers and sisters. They gave up everything for him, as he had given up everything for them. He loved them, plain and simple." If a circle of close friends was something that Jesus felt was this important, how much more then do we, as mere humans, require the close bonds of friendship?
As I'm sure you all know, this past year was one filled with sorrow and suffering for me, but through God's provision and help I was able to persevere and even grow in my faith through it all. I now realize that one of the ways that God provided for me during these tough times was by providing me with a group of friends that stood by me through it all. They didn't have to say anything, just being around them helped take my mind off of the troubles I was going through. I didn't recognize it as God's provision for me at the time, but looking back, I don't know how I would have handled it without the love and support of my friends. This is something that I am truly grateful for, and wish to express my extreme gratitude to them. It is my hope that I can in turn be there for them when life throws them a curve ball. To sum it all up, this weekend was a great time of refreshing for myself, as almost all of my good friends came together for a weekend of good times and awkward moments (courtesy of Newman). It is my hope that I will never take my friendships for granted, and that regardless of where life leads each of us, our friendships will be the one thing that remains constant.
posted by Bassmaster Fehr @ 8:26 p.m.
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