July 21, 2023
I call you friends. ~ portion of John 15:15 The VOICE
“Nana,” Anne-Sophie called, “these are my friends.” She hadn’t been in the pool for five minutes and in her outgoing manner she’d already made two friends, knew their names, and was suggesting things they could play in the water.
I’ve seen her do this repeatedly, at playgrounds, while going for a walk, at church and at school. She will go over to someone, introduce and self, and then, seamlessly, they are playing as if they’d known each other forever. I imagine that years from now she will be one of those people who “never met a stranger.” I admire this trait, one that does not come easily for me.
Anne-Sophie between two friends at her birthday party
I recall the months after we’d move to Charlotte, NC from Hawaii. It took time to get to know people. A few months into that move, I received an invitation to a birthday/retirement party of a woman I’d gotten met a few times at church. I called my son Seth and excitedly blurted out, “Guess what? I got invited to a birthday party!” I felt like a six-year-old receiving her first birthday party invitation. It meant so much to me, well into my 60’s at the time.
I think that Jesus was a person who never met a stranger as well, based on the gospels. When he was nearing the time of his betrayal, he shared a meal with his disciples, and said, “I call you friends.” They knew that Jesus was many things, a teacher, an orator, a miracle worker, the Messiah, the Son of God. He was all those things, as well as their friend. I imagine his declaration reverberating through the years and reaching our ears, our hearts, as well. I call you friends.
What a friend we have in Jesus! ~ Anne
Wayfinding 