Monday, April 19, 2021
My Oldest Friend
It’s been five days since the walk when my good friend told me about the boy who gave his farewell in her ward last Sunday.
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The one who had been asked to speak on his relationship with Christ.
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He said writing the talk was hard for him because he had so many personal stories to choose from.
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“Jesus is my oldest friend,” he explained.
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My heart almost beat right out of my chest when she told me that.
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I knew exactly what that boy was talking about, but I’ve never described it quite like that.
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And now the phrase won’t leave my thoughts.
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I remember Him showing up that day after my grandpa died and I sat on the curb of the playground at recess and wondered why all of the other kids were so happy.
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I was seven.
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He was there.
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And when I was twelve and the girls who had always been my friends told me I wasn’t cut out for the popular crowd and I walked home from the bus stop alone, He was there then too.
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At seventeen, when I left everything behind for a cause He called me into, at nineteen when I was the loneliest I have ever been, at twenty-six when the sky came crashing down.
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Still there.
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When I was diagnosed with my second melanoma and I was so sick for days, and weeks, and months, and I wondered if I would ever be whole again.
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When I lost my dear friend to cancer.
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When doubt and discouragement and failure overwhelmed.
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In every single one of those moments, He was there.
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Constant. Steady. Sure.
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The One who kept me from falling.
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An ever present help in times of trouble.
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The giver of grace.
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Jesus.
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For me, to live, is Christ.
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I don’t know where I would be without Him.
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To that boy who put into words what my heart has known but lacked a description for...thank you from the depths of my heart.
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In two years from now I can’t wait to hear about the stories you will share about your oldest friend who will surely accompany you on this upcoming journey.
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I am certain you will not travel alone.
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Thanks for reminding me that none of us do.
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Today I want to spend sacred time remembering Him.
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The One who has been there through it all.
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My oldest friend.
Emily Belle Freeman, post from facebook
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