A little 'play on words' w/the title that only he knows. ;O) I say that because I have a friend who continually challenges me, not really with his words or actions; although I find those to be indicative of the core issue that begets my discomfort. It is his heart. It aspires so much...and so purely. He would vehemently disagree, as I would if anyone dared to say something like that about me. But like David lamenting that he 'lived in a house made of cedar, while the Ark of The Covenant dwelt in a tent' (paraphrased), my friend 'sees' his life with such a virtuous focus on the eternal. No matter how much I learn and grow in my understanding of GOD, when we talk I am continually reminded of how 'earthly' my thinking is. But it is then I have to remind myself: Christ is the whetstone, not him; he is iron just like me. Two rough broken swords sharpening one another to return to battle, hopefully a little more prepared for the fight than before.
My friend is on my mind because he has a decision to make....and no one can help him make it, not me, not anyone. Even GOD remains silent. He stands at a precipitous worse than just the unknown, but two unknowns. A choice. One that will have ramifications affecting the rest of his life. Like the rest of us, he can't turn back, the past is gone. At this cliff, he can turn and look back at his past for instruction, but the glass wall that he must peer through is dim and opaque from his own limited human perspective. But even the path of his (as well as our own) history is uneven and full of twists and turns, so it brings him no comfort or trustworthy advice.
Still, he must choose.
As he told me his story, I struggled to grasp the enormity of what he faces. I did not have a clue. I tried to be objective, offer what insight I could....but I thought to myself: 'I got nuthin'. But that didn't keep me from trying, oh no, not me! The problem was, I couldn't (and still can't) separate the choice I would make when faced with a similar decision from what he would/should chose, so during our conversation I found myself unknowingly 'living vicariously' through him in this decision. I couldn't help myself. He saw it though, I guess it was pretty obvious. But graciously he listened, wading through my misguided uncomprehending words searching (most likely in vain) for some nugget of wisdom or insight that he hadn't thought of yet. But I take solace in that no matter what I nor anyone else could have said, it would not have helped him make his decision. What he really wanted and the one thing I could supply was simply friendship. So, like so many times he has for me, I was able to 'be there' for him. And now I realize that was all he was asking for. And I think he knew that the whole time anyway.
It is good to have a friend that understands you (at least to some degree), accepts you in all your inadequacies, does not judge and trusts you with his/her life. I guess we both can say that. That, I believe is true friendship.
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