A True Friend in Christ: God’s Gift to Women
A challenge for all women is to find true camaraderie and friendship. It isn’t the easy task that many might think as they see women sitting, talking and laughing in groups of three and four at the local coffee shop. Often, I find that women have surface friendships that don’t really dig deep into their lives to help with their needs. Real friendship involves sacrifice and giving that isn’t always evenly distributed and increasingly difficult to grasp in today’s busy world.
A pastor I once knew stated that every person should have a Barnabas in his or her life: a person who is a strong Christian, who supports you and who keeps you spiritually maturing. Through all of the obstacles in creating friendships, God gave me one friend that showed ultimate caring – she is my Barnabas.
Life Lesson: Biblical perspective on the end times
Experience It: Living in the power of the Holy Spirit
Angie and I met years ago in college just shortly after we both married. I discovered that even though we were completely different in temperament, we both had a desire to walk with Christ. Today, we live hours apart but talk weekly and enjoy visiting each other when our families can find the time to make the long trip across state lines to each other’s homes. And although we’ve been friends for a few years, it was only until recently that I came to know the depth of sacrifice that this divinely created and inspired friendship held within it.
Closer than a sister
On January 12, 2003, my second son was born with Spina Bifida, a rare but detrimental genetic spinal cord defect. We knew the birth would be complicated and had the family mobilized to help with the onset of hospitals, doctors, and newborn needs. Angie said she would come if I needed her. I did. The morning after my son’s birth she traveled to Dallas, Texas, with her husband and two-year-old daughter, to be with my family.
That first night as my husband worked and grandparents split the workload of my two year old and my newborn (who was in a hospital across the city), Angie sat with me. The next day she said goodbye to her husband as he returned home. She then set to work driving me to and from the hospital and being my extra pair of ears. She kept notes so I could remember the many instructions that doctors gave. She changed diapers and fed a crying baby. She walked with us to the operating room and hugged me when I gave my son over to the surgeons. She made sure I remembered to eat and helped me deal with my own post c-section pain in the middle of the night when my husband was too tired to wake up. She prayed for my family daily during that week and I know she continues to pray for me today.
Not once did Angie complain about missing her own husband or the toll the week was taking on her own child. Nor did she mention the financial cost of traveling or the burden of having to live out of a suitcase for a week. She didn’t even ask for anything in return. And to top it all off, Angie was four months pregnant! This was a sacrificial person, full of God’s grace and understanding of Christian service. God had truly blessed me with a friend who I could lean on physically and spiritually.
A Barnabas for each of us
God is in control of every aspect of our lives, including the people with whom we come into contact. I am convinced that God knew an independent person like me would need Angie during the most critical time of my life. So, eight years ago, He began cultivating our relationship. This cultivation came in the form of bible studies, hours of listening to each other talk, being in the same life situations at the same time, and ultimately in our shared belief that Jesus Christ is our Lord.
I know God desires that all women have a Barnabas like Angie in their lives – someone who will keep them spiritually grounded and lift them up in times of need, either through prayer or physical work. True friendship and Christian service are entwined and neither can be accomplished without first having a grounded relationship with Jesus Christ.
