A woman and her husband, the mayor of a large city, were walking along the street one day when a construction worker on a nearby scaffold leaned over and shouted, "Hello, Peggy." She turned to look and recognized him as being an old boyfriend from high school. She stopped to say hello and have a brief conversation before she and her husband continued their walk.

The mayor chuckled and said to his wife, "See there, if you had married that fellow, you’d be the wife of a construction worker."

She looked at him and said, "No, dear, if I’d married him, he would be the mayor of this city."

I love that!

We all need friends who will challenge us to higher levels of achievement, like dear Peggy. And we need friends who will encourage us to grow in our faith.

Imagine if your close friend knew of something that could change your life, something that could give you a peace and a joy that you never knew existed, something you had never experienced before … and your friend didn’t tell you about it. How would you feel? If it were my friend, I might actually question if they cared about me at all!

I recently received a phone call from a woman. Her heart was aching over a strained relationship. (Yet another casualty of Covid. The stress on relationships in these past few months has been real.) It was so very clear to me that what she needed more than anything else was to know that she was loved. She needed to be reminded that she was loved by a God who would love her unconditionally; a God who would never leave her, never forsake her.

My role in that interaction was to help her to think about things differently. To think about that which is true, and noble, and right, and pure and lovely. (Philippians 4:8). I believe that one of the most important things that we can do as a friend is to point people to God.

I understand that it might be hard to talk about your faith. It is for many us. But, sharing your experience, of how God has given you an inexplicable peace in the midst of this madness, can never be wrong. There are many of our friends who are home, isolated, afraid and lonely — introducing them to an ever-present God may be the comfort and encouragement they need.

WE are blessed, aren’t we? You and I know that we are not alone. God is with us. Allow your friends the opportunity to experience GOD, too.

We can be a positive influence on others, like Peggy and her husband the mayor!

So here are two simple suggestions:

Invite them to tune into an online Amberlea service. Want to add some more fun to that? Invite them to a Facebook Watch Party and watch the service together from your own homes.
Go for a social distanced walk, or just meet for a chat. It is amazing, particularly during these times, how organically you can talk about how God’s presence in your life is helping you cope.

It’s that easy. And in doing so, you will be blessed!

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

— Galatians 6:9