Perfect Storm

Every once in a while there falls into my life a perfect storm of ideas or concepts.  That happened today.

It started many months ago, when my Sister gave me a book for my birthday called “Vital Friends – The people You Can’t Afford To Live Without” by Tom Rath.  It sat in my pile of “Books to be read” for several months until a week or so ago when I picked it up and read it over a couple days.  The premise of the book is that it is ultimately the friends we make and keep that anchor us to reality and determine both our present well-being and our future happiness and success.

Rath basically says (and he provides a fair amount of research that backs it up) that we deeply undervalue the relationships we have with the people we spend our life with – at home, at work and all throughout life.

The second part of the perfect storm was a worship song that I listened to as I drove last week.  As I was already thinking about Rath’s book, the song by Israel Houghton and Michael Gunger, “Friend of God,” came on the Satellite radio.  As the words “ I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, I am a friend of God, He calls me friend” came on, followed by the verse “Who am I that You are mindful of me, That You hear me When I call. Is it true that You are thinking of me, How You love me, It’s amazing.” I found myself thinking about what it means to not just have friends but to have the ability/audacity to call God a friend and believe that God considers me a friend.

The third factor in my perfect storm of thought came this morning with the delivery of the Friday Calgary Herald.  An insert each Friday is a little magazine called “Swerve.”  I tend to not spend much time looking at it, but today the cover story by Kate Zimmerman called “Lonely Town” caught my eye.  (You can read the article yourself at http://swervecalgary.com/2012/02/03/lonely-town/.) The main thrust of the article is that there seems to be a definite lack of ability to make friends if you are in the Vancouver area, (especially compared to the more friendly Calgary!)  (Hay, I am just reporting what she writes, not agreeing or disagreeing!)

As I read the article, Rath’s book and the “Friend of God” song kept ringing around in my head. (My wife claims that there is quite a bit of empty space in there so it should not be surprising that I experience this phenomenon.)  Regardless, the coming together of this perfect storm was the thought that we as followers of Christ ought to be on the forefront of this realization and are perfectly placed to create a movement of deep friendships that can change the world for hundreds and thousands of people around us that we touch each day.

I wonder how many of our churches have lonely people, who attend once in a while – or even often – but are ignored by us?  How much effort would it be to say “Hi,” to ask a few questions that will help us to get to know them and maybe even offer to get together with them?  Instead we are so busy, so active, so over-committed that we blindly walk by the very people that both need us and that God has placed right in our path.  When was the last time we asked someone over to our home for coffee or a game night or even to just watch a movie?

Somehow haveing 567 ‘friends’ on facebook, or 146 people following us on twitter just isn’t hte same as having friends.  But do we really know that to be true as evidenced by the way we act?

I am personally blessed to work with a team of people that I can, without a moment’s hesitation, call some of my best friends.  I have worked hard to get to know and befriend the people in my neighbourhood.  I get to spend time with Pastors and congregational leaders that I can without hesitation call good and close friends.  I am married to my very best friend for over 35 years now (and while I mention her, it is her birthday today!!).

And then I find myself asking God, “Is there someone out there I am blindly walking by?  Someone who desperately needs a friend and you are calling on me to be that friend?”

For the rest of the day I will probably be singing “Open the eyes of my heart Lord…” (Not out loud, relax!!)