After writing Faithful Friends, I got to thinking about those who don’t feel like they have any friends…faithful or not. I know what that feels like. Up until recently, I felt like I didn’t have any friends. Oh, I had people who cared about me and who I cared for, too, but I didn’t have any “share your heart” kind of friends. I have had in the past, but not so much in recent years. I’m sure that’s mostly my fault. Regardless, though, I felt alone. So, I know what it’s like to not have anyone to help you out.

I was thinking about this as I drove to church. Wondering if, instead of inspiring hope, my post would discourage someone. I don’t want that. Another story came to mind. Another miracle. A different set of circumstances.

After this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now there is in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate a pool, in Aramaic called Bethesda, which has five roofed colonnades. In these lay a multitude of invalids—blind, lame, and paralyzed. One man was there who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be healed?” The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, and while I am going another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” And at once the man was healed, and he took up his bed and walked. John 5:1-9a

Another sick man in need of healing, but a different set of circumstances. It was believed that an angel would periodically come and trouble the water in the pool of Bethesda, and that, when the water was stirred up, whoever was the first to get into the water would be healed. This man had been sick for thirty-eight years. Thirty-eight years spent in need of healing. He wanted to be healed. He laid by the pool, hoping to be healed. Time after time, though, the water was stirred and he was unable to get in. He told Jesus that he had no one to help him. Someone else always beat him to it. He had no one. No friends to carry him. How hopeless it must have felt to feel so close to your healing, only to see someone else get in the water before you. Hopeless, indeed, until Jesus came by. Jesus asked him a question. “Do you want to be healed?” Of course this man wanted to be healed! He had no one to lower him into the water. No one to help him, but that didn’t matter anymore. The Saviour came to him. He healed him.

It’s a good reminder. Friends are important. They make life easier. It’s a lot easier sometimes to have someone carry you to Jesus than to get to Him yourself. When you have no one to help you to Him during the hard times, it can feel very lonely. It’s hard to feel alone. It’s hard to feel like you don’t have friends.

Oh, but, Friend, let me tell you! There is a Friend. Just like He did for the man lying by the pool, He can come to you. He is a faithful friend. He loves you.

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24

Don’t be discouraged. Even if you have been lying by the pool for a long time, there is hope! Jesus is asking us, “Do you want to be healed?” He died for our healing. He longs to heal us. We just have to accept his gift.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psalm 103:1-5

He loves us, and He wants us to accept His gifts. He offers us forgiveness. He offers us healing. He offers us redemption. He offers us love and mercy, and He offers us satisfaction. We just have to ask and be ready to receive.

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21

Just ask, Friend. He loves you. He wants to heal you. He is faithful, and He is able!

After writing that last post, I was on my way to church, and was still thinking about the topic. So, you guys are getting another post.

The last of those verses that relate the story to us said…

And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” Luke 5:25-26

I think a lot of people go through life thinking, “Why would God want to help me with my problem?” Some things seem too small to bother Him with…just a thorn in our side. Other things seem so big that we don’t even know how to approach Him to ask for help. It seems too big…too intimidating.

Broken hearts, broken relationships, broken dreams…it sometimes seems like too much work to gather all of the pieces together and ask Him to fix them. The healing is sometimes as painful as the wounds. He’s there waiting for us, though. Just waiting for us to put our faith in Him and ask. Just ask.

Isaiah 61:1-3
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,
and the day of vengeance of our God;
to comfort all who mourn;
to grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds. Psalms 147:3

It seems to me that God wants to heal us. He wants to heal our wounds and set us free from the chains that bind us. He wants us to live a joyful and productive life. We don’t deserve it, but He offers it to us.

Why? Why would he care to heal us?

It says, both in Luke and Isaiah, that He does this to glorify Himself. In our healing, we are given the opportunity to glorify God. We can share what God has done for us…tell others that they can be healed, too.

What could be better than the reaction that the lame man’s healing brought?

And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”

What could be better than someone witnessing God’s work in our lives, and being filled with awe at God’s power? What could be better than glorifying God in our lives, and inspiring others to glorify Him as well?

Really…what could be better?

I’ve been blessed lately. Really blessed. Blessed with friends. Friendship is very important. The Bible is filled with verses talking about the importance of friends. It tells us how to make friends, how to keep friends, and how to treat friends. I think the point is that they are important. We need other people. So, lately, I’ve been blessed with the good friends the Lord has sent my way. And I’m thankful.

I was thinking about these things a little while ago, and I began to remember a story from the Bible. I’m sure most all of you have heard this story before. I remember learning about it for the first time in a flannel graph lesson in Sunday School when I was just a little girl.

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” Luke 5:17-26

This man was paralyzed. He couldn’t get to Jesus on his own. He needed to get to the Saviour, for he needed to be healed. His paralysis prevented him from getting to him, though. His friends…faithful friends who were convinced that their friend needed to get to Jesus…put him on a bed and carried this lame man to Jesus. When they got to where Jesus was, the crowd was so thick they couldn’t reach him. Most people would have gave up. They would have told him, “Maybe next time.” and took him home. These were faithful friends, though. They knew their friend needed to get to Jesus. They carried him up to the roof, tore the tiles away, and lowered their friend right to the feet of Jesus. In the verses above, it tells us when Jesus saw “their faith” He healed the lame man. Not when he saw the lame man’s faith, but the faith of his friends. I’m sure the lame man had faith that Jesus could heal him, but, regardless of his belief that Jesus could heal him, he didn’t have the ability to get to Him on his own.

What’s my point? Sometimes we struggle with things…hurts…fear…sin…and, regardless of our belief that Jesus can heal us and set us free, we just can’t get ourselves to Him. We need someone to take us to him. To carry us to Jesus. We need someone else’s faith to stand in the gap for us when we don’t have enough faith ourselves. If we could just get to Jesus, we could find our healing.

So, what about you? Do you have any friends who just can’t seem to get themselves to Jesus? Do you watch them stubbornly hold on to their sin? Does it hurt your heart to see them wrestle with things too big for them to handle? Do you feel helpless? You aren’t helpless. Carry them to Jesus. Get them to Him. Obviously, we can’t pick someone up and physically take them to His presence, but we can remind them of His love. We can pray for them and with them. We can carry their burden for a while, and let them rest.

The Bible says:

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James 5:16

I think most things are overrated. Prayer, however, is not one of those things. Prayer is powerful. It changes things. It changes people.

Carry your friends to Jesus. Lay them at His feet, and ask for their healing. God may just heal your friend when he sees your faith.

Heather at The Six Scavos tagged me for a meme. Enjoy!

Four Jobs I have had:
Cashier at a grocery store.
Computer Room Associate at the same grocery store.
I guess you could count the few months I got paid to clean the church a couple of years ago.
No fourth job…sorry. I just got married young.

Four Films I Can Watch Over & Over:
The Outsiders
The Sound of Music
Anne of Green Gables
Can’t think of a fourth one.

Four Places I have lived:
Wartburg, TN
Harriman, TN
Obviously, I’ve not moved around much. Yet. The Army might change that.

Four Favorite TV shows:
Heroes
Gilmore Girls (even though it is canceled)
ER
American Idol

Four Favorite Foods:
Pizza
Smothered Chicken
Cheeseburgers
Taco Soup

Four Websites I visit Daily:
Google Reader
My college classes’ page.
Amy’s Blog
www.comcast.net

Four Places I would love to be:
At the beach. (Lucky for me, I am so going there in less than a week!)
On an Army post.
Europe
Teen Camp (What? I would love to go back to teen camp!)

Four people I’m going to tag:
Joy
Jenn
Laura
Heather

If you ladies haven’t done this before, play along. I look forward to your answers.

Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation. Selah

I have recently began to use eBible a lot. It is this awesome program where you can read the Bible online. It has search features, commentaries, etc. to help you study. I do about half of my Bible reading through this service. Over the past couple of months, I have searched numerous topics. I’ve looked up and read about hope, faith, shame, forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, friendship, etc., as well as just looking up verse references. I’m beginning to be suspicious, however, that someone has a message for me. You see, of all of those varying topics I’ve looked up, no matter what I search, eBible tells me to read Proverbs 31. Every single time. Without fail. If I were to look up Hell…it would tell me to read Proverbs 31. If I looked up Leviticus chapter two, it would tell me to read Proverbs 31. I know that chapter covers a lot of ground, but…really?

A couple of nights ago, I mentioned this phenomenon to Amy while we were talking on the phone. I was hoping she was going to say, “Oh, that happens to me, too. It’s just a bug in the software.” No such luck. She just laughed at me.

“Maybe God’s trying to tell me something.” I told myself. So, I began to read the chapter….

I started with verse ten, and read:

An excellent wife who can find?
She is far more precious than jewels.
The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.

Okay. That’s good. I’m a pretty good wife, I think. Chris tells me I am. He trusts me, I know. I don’t harm him, nor do things which cause him harm. I’m cool with that. We’re doing good.
So, I read on:

She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.

Hmm. She seeks wool and flax. I have been known to scope out a good sale and bring home some nice wool pants for my husband. Does that count? She works with willing hands. I have done that before. And that bringing food from afar thing…Walmart is like ten minutes away. That’s ‘afar’, right?

She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.

Oh, man. We’ve hit a snag. She rises while it is yet night. This is where the deep sigh escaped me. Still night? That means before dawn. What would anyone need to get up that early for? Oh, yes…apparently to fix breakfast.
Moving along:

She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.

Can it get any better? She gardens, too? As I glance outside to the planter on my porch that is growing nothing but weeds, I’m thinking, “So I don’t have a green thumb? I know how to make a mighty fine powerpoint presentation.”
Surely it’s not going to get much worse for me:

She dresses herself with strength
and makes her arms strong.

Wha, what? She has time to work out, too?
Must go on:

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.

Spindle…spindle? It’s bringing up some fuzzy images from Sleeping Beauty. I think it implies sewing. Um. Me? Sew? Not so much.
This is getting depressing.

She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.

Ah, finally one I can do! I can help the needy. I have been known to buy hamburgers for a homeless guy and drop money in the salvation army bucket. Maybe this is looking up for me!

She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Hehe. “All her household are clothed in scarlet.” Sounds like she left a red sock in the load of whites if you ask me.

Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.

Well, of course everyone knows her husband. He’s the guy in the nice, red robes, thanks to that errant sock.

She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.

Well, I think we’ve established that I won’t be making any garments any time soon, and I don’t know how strong and dignified I am. However, I do laugh a lot. Does that count? Oh, come on. Give me that much, because I’m not measuring up too well here.

She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

I hesitate to say my words are wise, but I have been known to share some kind words before. Oh, and the bread of idleness? Nope, not I. I’m watching my carbs these days.

Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:

I don’t know that they’ve ever called me blessed, but they have told me I’m the “best mommy in the whole wide world” before. Surely that counts.

“Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”

Oh, relief! She’s better than even the excellent women. Maybe she’s not the standard but the example to strive for. That’s handy.

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

Fearing the Lord…I do fear the Lord. Of that I am sure. All kidding aside, I fear displeasing him. I fear not making the most of the blessings he has given me. I don’t, however, fear that my ability or inability to be the best of everything I’m supposed to be will make Him quit loving me. Sure I would love to be the kind of woman that someone would write a beautiful, poetic tribute about, as the author of Proverbs 31 did, but it’s good to know that, even if I am never able to even hold a candle to this woman in Proberbs 31, He’ll love me just the same.

So, eBible, I have read it already. I have pondered and laughed and wrote a silly, slightly amusing blog post. I have contemplated God’s mercy and acceptance and longsuffering. So, eBible, could you please, pretty please show me some different verses? Maybe John 3:16 or something?

I have recently discovered this great new band that I just have to tell you guys about. They are awesome. I love their songs. Especially “This Is Now”, “Thank You”, and “I Can’t Deny”. Check them out. You won’t regret it.

I am so happy to be alive today. Really I am. Life is good. God is good.

Honestly…my cup is running over.

I’m sure some of you are wondering where those super great posts I promised are. Well, they are coming, I assure you. I have thought about them a great deal, but just haven’t been able to quell the skipping in the sunshine all joyful and full of freedom long enough to sit down and blog them. That, and my husband is home. He’s off from work for a few days, and he is making the most of them. Monday, he took the older kids to Dollywood while I stayed home with Owen and cleaned up the house a little (a very little). Tuesday, he took the kids all day while I finished all of my homework. Yesterday, we went to Knoxville and I got my very own military id card, and of course had church last night. Today, we’re going to the Aquarium. This military thing has it’s perks. We can go to all of the Ripley’s attractions in Gatlinburg…including the aquarium whose regular price pass is nearly twenty dollars…for less than ten. Pretty cool! So, we’re doing family stuff while he’s off. I think he goes back to work tomorrow, though, so I will be blogging to my little heart’s content.

In the meantime, there will be much skipping and singing, and maybe even a little bit of bouncing if I can’t contain myself.

I. Am. Finished.

My summer semester is in the books. No more algebra. Ever!

I feel as if I’ve had a heavy burden lifted off my shoulders. This semester was hard. Really hard. There were a few times that I didn’t think I was going to be able to get it all done. With Chris gone half the summer, it was almost too much to handle. I remember telling Amy one night, very upset, that I wished I could just quit. If it had of been possible to do without losing all the tuition I paid, I would have dropped the algebra class in a heartbeat. I couldn’t, though, so I carried on.

And, now…well, now I’m through. I passed with a decent grade, and I’m glad to have it behind me. Such a relief. Such a feeling of accomplishment.

Makes me wonder what other things in my life…things that push me to the point of despair…are just a little ways from being over. If I just carry on, there is freedom to be had. Sometimes, I think we should just take a deep breath and do what we have to do. It doesn’t make it less hard. It doesn’t make it less frustrating. The freedom that is waiting, though, is worth the headaches and heartaches.

Oh, freedom!

Me and my girl.