true faith

I like to look through greeting cards for no reason. Well, sometimes I have a reason, like if I'm waiting for copies to be made at Kinko's I'll look through the cards to bide my time. I'll often see cards that make me think of someone and I smile at the thought of sending it to them and the thought of their smile upon receiving it. Like the card that talked about the perfect friend being like a perfect pair of shoes. I found that one right after I'd talked with a friend about our weakness for fun shoes. Or the card that had a rollercoaster on it; I wanted to send that one to my husband. Way back when we were having our RDT – Relationship Defining Talk – in college, we decided that we were willing to go on the Relationship Rollercoaster together. I thought he'd get a kick out of that one. So, a while back while I was waiting for copies at Kinko's I found another card that was perfect. It was so perfectly ironic that I started crying right there in the store. I knew I'd never send it, but I bought it to remind me of the message. There was a picture of a little cartoon guy pushing with all his might to move a mountain. The text on the front of the card said, "They say that faith can move mountains, but true faith is…" On the inside, the picture showed this same little guy pushing the mountain, but the mountain was on a wagon being pulled by another guy. The text said, "knowing your friends are going to be there for you." True faith is knowing your friends are going to be there for you. I had just received an email from someone who I'd grown to consider a close friend saying that she had to walk away from our friendship. I was devastated. She had grown to be a large part of my daily life. I enjoyed my conversations with her. I felt a connection with her that I hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. It was like a piece of me had died and I didn't know why. I had to respect her decision even if it didn't make sense to me. "If true faith is knowing your friends are going to be there for you, then my faith is shattered," I thought as I held the card in my hand only days after that. As I thought about it, I couldn't say with certainty that I have ever had friends who I knew were always going to be there for me. That is not a reflection on my friends as much as it is on me. I've moved so many times, I've had to say good bye to so many people, so many almost-good-friends that I've learned to be a really good acquaintance. I have realized that I'm not so good at going to the next level, and I'm afraid that if I do, then either I or they will say good-bye. I've found out that friends go away. I go away. Friends aren't always there for you. Fortunately, God is always there for me. That's what true faith is. Believing what I cannot see. Believing that God loves the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, and that whoever believes in Jesus will not die, but in fact live. True faith is trusting that God is good and that He loves me; that He has my best in mind, even through all the moves and the good-byes and the hurts and the fears. A more accurate card would show God pulling that mountain on a wagon, and me riding in the wagon instead of trying to push it. (Maybe I'd even be riding with a friend!) And the text would say, "True faith is believing that God can move the mountains, and knowing that He will always be there for you." So, I guess what I'm saying is that God is a pretty good friend. He's the best friend. Truly.