I haven’t
written one of these for a long time BUT I lay awake last night with a song
playing over and over in my head…Those from my old neck of the woods and of the
same era may well remember a Showband led by George Jones called Clubsound? At
the height of the troubles in Northern Ireland they continued to play to
audiences that needed to be lifted out, albeit for only a few hours, of the
horror of ‘The Troubles’ that had everyone living in fear. At the end of all of
their performances they would sing this song, ‘The way old friends do’.
Particularly poignant in those days when friends and loved ones were being lost to
people almost daily. As I watched the news tonight before going to bed I heard
of a glimmer of hope for the families and friends of those still lost since the
disappearance of Flight MH370 four weeks
ago..I know that there is such amazing comfort found in knowing God, I am so
thankful knowing that I and they are never lost to God…I am always gladdened by
the fact that The Holy Spirit dwells within me and that in my deepest needs I
have One who sits enthroned in the Heavens Who beckons me to come to Him, give Him
my burdens, share my anxieties and find sufficient Grace and Mercy and Hope and
Peace and Joy…BUT last night as I recited that song over and over I thought
once again of a story I have shared in Church before….Suzy was just 6 years old and tucked up in bed sound asleep, when she
was woken by the thunder clap outside that announced the storm had arrived at
their house. She ran screaming into her parents’ bedroom, jumped in between her
mum and dad and said, ‘Daddy hug me quick, I’m scarred’ Her
daddy said, “You don’t need to be scarred sweetheart, you know God is with
you!’ “I know that daddy” Suzy replied, “but right now I just need something with
flesh on it”
We are
relational people, that’s the way God made us, that’s what our Gospel Message
is all about, a relationship with the living God BUT along the way God knows to
we need relationships with ‘flesh on it’…Family, friends, people who come into
our lives and make us feel loved, accepted, better! I suppose this blog was
stirring within me since last week, when a Facebook friend from Belfast, Mitch,
posted his reminiscences of friends past, one of who was my best friend Gerald
Titmus, who sadly died a few years ago, just a young man. I miss Gerald, I miss
my dad, I miss so many friends that I’ve made along the way in my now almost 60
years..That song I referred to at the beginning, says, ‘times of joy and times of sorrow, we will always see it through. Oh I
don't care what comes tomorrow we can face it together the way old
friends do’
We are made
richer, fuller, better by good friends and family. We are poorer, sadder when
we lose them or lose touch with them and sadly both happen all too often and
all too suddenly. Just to cap all this off, this morning I was reading my Bible
and in Acts Chapter 13 read these words concerning the arrival of Paul and
Barnabas in Antioch Pisidia, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement
for the people, come and give it.” V15
There are
people waking up this morning dying for encouragement, whether in Kuala Lumpur,
Beijing, London, Belfast or Tenerife. “Brothers,
if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”
There are
people in all of those places and beyond in need of friendship and hope. Start
building new ones, start re-building
broken ones and when the time comes you’ll always have those who can put
their arms around you, be YOUR FRIEND.. who will help you make it to the end
and along the way help you face whatever comes good or bad.…Yes and maybe you could
start by looking for ‘the friend that sticks closer than a brother’ who will
truly walk with you right to the end……..
You perhaps
know the song I mentioned from the one recorded by Abba and the one that
ran round my head all night was sung by Clubsound, but here it is for you to listen to by another Irish girl, Philomena Begley, ‘The Way Old Friends Do’ Take a moment
or two and just listen to the words.
