We Are Blessed - Good Friends

We are so blessed to have good friends. I realized this a few weeks ago when we re-started our visitation program after taking the summer off (as is typical in our church community). The elderly woman I visited up through the summer break got hospitalized and no longer lives alone as she moved in with her son. I told Jean that I wanted to begin visiting someone new and we started by visiting an ill church member whose wife is a member of our Sabbath School class. He has not been able to come to church due to his medical conditions (multiple). We went to visit them mid-afternoon and they had us stay for popcorn and fruit salad and then games that night. We ALL had a great time and it wasn't like we were "visiting" but rather just like hanging out with great friends!

Last weekend while we were in the greater Chattanooga, TN area we were invited to go to church on Sabbath with a colleage who used to live in Maine and now works at my company's home office in Chattanooga. We were friends before they moved to TN just under two years ago (I actually am doing the job he vacated when he moved south). We went to their church with our college-aged daughter who goes there every other week and joined their Sabbath School class, worshipped with them during church and went to their Sabbath School class' potluck in the afternoon. When that broke up we were invited to our friend's house for conversation, a walk, supper and more conversation.

This Sabbath afternoon we went and visited our friends here in Maine again and I had contacted another Sabbath School classmate who has an infirm friend whom she cares for who came over as well and we all shared popcorn and fruit salad with time to discuss our various concerns, joys and prayed for the burdens and challenges that are looming for one of our friends. We just got home!

What a blessing it is to have friends to fellowship with, to pray with and to just spend time together with on Sabbath.

On an unrelated side note, our pastor introduced us to a lovely new song in church today: The Power of Your Love by Geoff Bullock - her son had the words matched with wonderful photos and graphics in the worship PowerPoint program.