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.
.
The one who had been asked to speak on his relationship with Christ.
.
He said writing the talk was hard for him because he had so many personal stories to choose from.
.
“Jesus is my oldest friend,” he explained.
.
My heart almost beat right out of my chest when she told me that.
.
I knew exactly what that boy was talking about, but I’ve never described it quite like that.
.
And now the phrase won’t leave my thoughts.
.
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.
.
I was seven.
.
He was there.
.
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.
.
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.
.
Still there.
.
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.
.
When I lost my dear friend to cancer.
.
When doubt and discouragement and failure overwhelmed.
.
In every single one of those moments, He was there.
.
Constant. Steady. Sure.
.
The One who kept me from falling.
.
An ever present help in times of trouble.
.
The giver of grace.
.
Jesus.
.
For me, to live, is Christ.
.
I don’t know where I would be without Him.
.
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.
.
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.
.
I am certain you will not travel alone.
.
Thanks for reminding me that none of us do.
.
Today I want to spend sacred time remembering Him.
.
The One who has been there through it all.
.
My oldest friend.

Emily Belle Freeman, post from facebook

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=298016338361061&set=p.298016338361061