Think about those friends of yours. You know the ones. Those friends who are like family. Those friends who are there for you no matter what. Sometimes they are family. You can call them whenever, wherever, whatever, whatever. You can lock eyes with these people and suddenly you know you are all thinking the exact same thought! These are the friends that come to mind when you hear the phrase “we laughed until we cried.” Sometimes these are the friends who know all there is to know about you, and they love you anyway, not despite these things, but because of them. Sometimes these are friends you haven’t actually known for very long, but when you met, there was an instant connection. These are those friends that hold you accountable. These friends love you without judgement. These are the people who wrap you up in love when your life falls apart. These friends accomplish the impossible when they make you laugh through alligator tears. These are the friends that stop dead in their tracks to pray you through your day.
Several years ago, the group NewSong released a song called “Sheltering Trees”. Here are the lyrics to the chorus:
We all need sheltering trees
Friends in our lives who'll get down on their knees
And lift us up before the king of kings
We all need sheltering trees
Wow! Is that true or what?! I don’t know about you, but i find life to be fairly difficult without connection. Even if you’re like me and you fall more into the introverted/loner category, when the circumstances of life are rough, I need my friends! I need friends who will lift me up in prayer when I’m too weary and broken to know what to pray for myself. I need friends who will cry out to God on my behalf! On the flip side, when something great has happened and life is smooth sailing, I need friends who will rejoice with me! Who will thank God with me! Who will cry happy tears for me!
The thing about having Sheltering Tree friends is that it’s a two way street. You have to be a Sheltering Tree friend too! That means telling your friend that you will remember them in prayer…and then actually pray for them! That means being supportive, and giving of your time. That means allowing yourself to hurt with your friends, but also to dance and sing and laugh with them when the time is right!
Is being this kind of friend easy? Not really. Luckily, we have the best example of friendship imaginable in Jesus Christ. And he gave us very specific directions about how to be a good friend. I love John 15:12-17. It says, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father, I have made known to you.” Jesus, of course, literally laid down his life for us on the cross. Now I don’t think we are actually called to die for our friends, but maybe “laying down our life” can mean something else. That might mean putting aside our own troubles and concerns and cares…just for a few minutes…and allowing a friend’s troubles and concerns and cares to take priority while we pray.
What an absolute gift friendship is! Especially those friendships that God has blessed. My prayer for each person reading this is that God would sprinkle Sheltering Tree friendships throughout your life. I pray you would find Sheltering Trees at work, at school, in the carline, at your doctor’s office, and YES! At church! It is our sincere prayer and hope that the Sheltering Trees Women’s Ministry at Cross Roads can be a place of refuge for you. A place to connect and to take root. A place to have Sheltering Trees as friends and to be a Sheltering Tree as well. Spread the love gals!