Welcome To Nothing But Books
Today's Featured Guest Blogger is Kolleen Lucariello
A Friend Who
Refreshes
As we flip
our calendars from August, ushering in September, we say farewell to our summer
vacations and hello to the season of back-to-school, cooler temperatures of
fall and one of the highlights of our home: football. Here’s another bonus of
September: it’s also Women’s Friendship Month and I love the gift of friendship!
Recently I was reading in Acts about
Paul and how difficult life had become for him. He was beaten, bound with
chains, accused by the Jews, imprisoned, taken before councils and Rulers, and
then eventually sent to Rome. I imagine by the time Paul boarded the ship to
begin his journey to Rome he was a tired man; he’d endured a great deal. As I’m
feeling bad for him, this verse jumps out at me: “The next day we landed at
Sidon; and Julius, treating Paul with [thoughtful] consideration, allowed him
to go to his friends there and be cared for and refreshed”
(Acts 27:3 AMP).
I simply adore the fact Julius, the
guard in charge, thought enough of Paul to recognize he needed the care and
refreshment of his friends. That part of the story just blesses my heart because
I’m so grateful for those who recognized when I needed the care and refreshment
only a faithful friend could bring. While my journey, or your journey, may
never look like Paul’s, it’s still possible for imprisonment to find us.
We might endure a prison of
darkness when depression covers us like a thick heavy blanket. Or chained to a
past we can’t seem to move away from. We may find ourselves standing before accusers—relentless
in voicing their opinions while refusing to hear ours. Life is full of moments
when the waters can become a turbulent sea.
That’s when we need our own Julius,
the guard in our lives, to recognize our need for care and refreshment. Who is
traveling your journey with you? Who is your guard in life that notices when
you’re about to break? Who reaches out when you begin drifting away? We all
need a guard like Julius, someone willing to stand by us, giving thoughtful
consideration to our needs. And we all crave friends who bring care and
refreshment to our lives. Proverbs 11:25b promises, “Whoever refreshes others
will be refreshed” (NIV).
Guarding and Caring always brings:
R-Refreshing.
~+~
Kolleen Lucariello is the author of The ABC’s of Who God Says I Am. Read her
heart at www.speakkolleen.com. She has been married to her high school sweetheart,
Pat, for 34 years. Together they have three grown children, and four beautiful
grandchildren. They make their home in Upstate New York.
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