I have a friend who is hurting. Life as she knew it has suddenly tipped over into a raging river of chaos and confusion. She can barely come up for air before another current rips her under.
If ever there was a drowning with no water involved, this is where my friend is.
Maybe you have a hurting friend too.
Yesterday, I sat down to write my friend a card and send her a little gift. I desperately wanted to love her through my words. My heart was full of care, compassion and a strong desire to encourage but I struggled to translate all I felt on paper.
As I prayed about it, the word “value” kept coming to mind.
Remind her she is valuable. Remind her how much you respect her. Remind her she is a woman who has so much to offer.
In Acts 3, Peter and John encounter a crippled man at the temple gate called beautiful. They stopped. They noticed. They decided to touch. Riches weren’t available to them but the ability to value was.
“Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, walk.” Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up… Acts 3:6-7.
Peter and John didn’t have silver but they had a hand to offer and they had value to give. The man in need was worth touching. The hurting one in need was a man who needed someone to see him as a man. The man in need had so much to offer. After he got up, he went into the temple courts praising God and stirring up wonder and amazement about God.
I want my friend to remember she too has praise left inside her for our God. She too can get up. She too can stir up amazement and wonder about our God.
Yes, she is valuable.
And so with imperfect words on a simple Target card, I wrote.
If you live near the great state of IN, I would be honored to meet you this weekend at a women’s conference at Greenwood Christian Church. I will be speaking on Friday night and Saturday. Click here for more info.
