My friends give me more spiritual help than they'll ever know. After a long struggle against dread cancer, fellow church member Diane died on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter. Most people would have spent the next day at home grieving but Diane's husband Gary took his grief and children to Easter worship. Their witness to me that day was...and continues to be...profound. No bravado talk about Jesus. Tears and all, their presence preached one of the most sincere Easter sermons of my life.
Walking into church yesterday, I saw Betty. Thursday she buried her husband Norman. What a friend and gift of God Norm was! So I greeted Betty and said, "I know how hard it is for you to come to church today." It's true, many people stop going to church when they lose their spouse. How hard to return to the place you and your spouse worshipped together, where you greeted friends week after week, where you now have to sit alone. Betty didn't miss a beat. "I know," she said. "I have to do this." She affirmed that friends and followers of Jesus come together, even when it is unimaginably hard.
I'm weary of the institutional church...but I'll stick with it because of my friends. More than you know, you're helping me.
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