Who Goes With You?

“When you have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:10

This month has been filled with relationships that began in past seasons of my life. I have made visits in nursing homes, had lunch with friends of all ages, and shared conversations that were filled with emotions and depth. Life is about relationships. Some people we connect with for a season, and other people stay in our lives through different seasons. I believe there are just a handful of people with whom we share the depth of our heart and soul with true honesty without fear of judgment.

As I have moved throughout my adult life because of ministry changes or relationship changes, I have connected quickly with people and enjoyed the fellowship with the family of believers. It has been a joy to serve in churches and to counsel with people through the crises of life. These connections are part of my foundation of life and faith. I am grateful for the experience and their willingness to share life with me. They do not continue with me on my path of life, but it does not mean they are not important to me. If our paths cross again, the connection would still be there.

But there are people that go with us for a lifetime. I am not sure how we choose them or even if we actually make a conscious decision to keep them. We bring them from the past into the present and know that as long as we are both on this earth, we will walk beside each other. Recently, I have had seven friends with whom this bond is permanent. Four of them have been like adopted parents to me, and as they live into their nineties, I know our time together is limited. I value their wisdom, their love, and our heart connection. They share with me what they do not speak even with their biological children.

In the other three friendships, I am walking with them through an unknown journey and together we are finding our way through the jungle of life. They each come from different seasons of my life, but they have always gone with me. Why? It is because we communicate on a heart and faith level. It is a level that contains no judgment, only acceptance and a desire to be present for each other. Sometimes other people perceive them as having it all together and able to handle whatever comes into life because of their position or perceived depth of spiritual maturity. It is therefore difficult for them to share their struggles with some of their friends.

So, who goes with you? We know people. We interact with people. We may even have meals and conversations about easy topics like the weather, sports, food, vacations, and family. We love them and value their friendship. But when it comes to sharing our pain, hurts, struggles, and fears, very few people draw close enough to hear our hearts. When you find someone who truly hears your soul without judgment and allows you to just share without trying to fix or control, you keep them, and they go with you into all your seasons and chapters of life.

Josh Turner recorded the song, “Would You Go with Me?” Here are a few lines of the song –

“Would you go with me if we rolled down streets of fire? Would you hold on to me tighter as the summer sun got higher? If we roll from town to town and never shut it down. Would you go with me if we were lost in fields of clover? Would we walk even closer until the trip was over? And would it be okay if I didn’t know the way?”

The song was written as a romantic song asking their love interest to join them on a journey through the experiences of life. But for me, the song helps me to ponder who I would want to go with me through the experiences of life and be there for me even when I did not know the way. Whatever your struggles in life – grief, change, crisis, disease – who do you want to go with you through it? Yes, I know God is with me through everything. I rely on God to be my support, my rock, my strength, and to walk with me through every storm of life. I also, believe that God works through others. When friends allow the Holy Spirit to use them and speak through them, that friend is the person we want to be with us. Many times, we hear God speak to us through friends who are walking close to Jesus.

I discovered that this friend may not be the one you expected to be there for you. God connects the unexpected because God knows who we need. It may not be the person you share daily life with or even around the most, but it is someone you share your heart and soul with who loves you for who you are and the one you trust to listen and speak the truth to you when needed. It does not matter the age or stage of life; it is about the heart and soul. Live close to those who understand you and step into your struggle and walk with you.

So, who goes with you?

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