I followed my three year old out to the front yard. She happily lugged all of the books that her little arms could hold, and I carried a camping blanket. It was that special time in the afternoon, when the sun is beginning to make its downward turn, when the shadows of the full, leafy trees create cool sanctuaries in the grass: a fine time to spread out a blanket and read books.
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
“When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.”
I have a friend named Christi. We met in 2004, and she is the person I can shoot a text to when I’m unreasonably angry, when I’m sad for no tangible reason, when I’m frustrated or embarrassed, when I’m terrified and when I feel like my faith is growing cold. She is the person who can handle my ungodly feelings, my skewed viewpoints, my darkest attitudes, my strongest, misguided opinions. I can say anything to her that has crossed my mind without fear of judgment, without bracing for a lecture, without worrying about how she will feel about me after she hears what’s really going on in my heart.
213 E. Main St.
PO Box 577
Olney, Texas 76374
Phone: (940) 564-5558
Fax: (940) 564-3992
