Before Dad died, I knew I wanted it have real friends. Not just the laugh and have fun friends, but the friends who would be there for me when I was having a bad day. When a death as tragic as this happens to a family, everyone responds from all walks of life. Why? Usually pity and human based love. What do I mean by human based? I'm getting to that.
The weeks following Dad's death, a lot of people backed off. We would get over it. We would find a new normal. We've done well so far. The cards slacked, the random stop ins slacked. But they didn't stop.
One church in particular comes to mind. Other than churches in Abbeville, there was this one church that responded with crazy over the top no sense kind of love. I think we knew personally one family that went to this church, but other than that, they had been off our radar. For weeks, different people from this church would send us notes of love and prayer and blessing. I was overwhelmed! It was more than some card saying "sorry for your loss we are praying." This was the body of Christ moving! Reaching out from one church and town to another! What a testimony! What love.
Last weekend was my sixteenth birthday and I had a party with mostly teens but some adults. Family came from all over Alabama! And even friends! The drive for hours just to be there for a little party. Why? They love me! They love my family!
I realize so many teens my age talk about "love" and "best friends" but y'all, they have no clue! I had no clue before all this happened! My church keeps loving on me and praying for me and they are as thrilled as I am that we don't have to leave Abbeville!
This love overwhelms me. I keep thinking "Why do they keep loving me? I can't pay them back. I don't deserve this!" The answer is that this is the love of Jesus at work! And I can never pay them back and I could never deserve this. Before everything happened, I knew I could never repay my parents, but they were my parents and that was their job. When someone did me a favor, I knew I could pay them back. But all this, it's unbelievable! My church family and friends took time off to teach me to drive, to take my brother golfing and hunting and fishing, to personally write me a song, to set up sound equipment for my party, to ask me how they could pray. And that's just the ones I could name off the top of my head! This is Proverbs 18:24 is action, "One who has unreliable friends will soon come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."
There have been moments when I almost didn't like the fact that I couldn't pay people back for their love. But then I realize they are just following Jesus' example. He showed the ultimate love by making the ultimate sacrifice. He gave His life for me! I can never ever pay that back! But I am grateful with every breath I take, every laugh I utter, and every tear that falls. "Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."
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