Just Being There

Luke 7:13

When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” (NIV)

I ran into a friend yesterday and in the moment decided to grab a spontaneous lunch. I had not talked with her in awhile so it was great to take the opportunity to catch up. We started with the usual question, but this time with well intended meaning, “How are you?” She immediately melted into tears.

I don’t know a woman alive who hasn’t experienced this situation. It amazes me how God puts people in your path at just the right time and those people are usually girlfriends, right? I had no idea (at the time) that she was anything but o.k. Upon our initial embrace she was smiling, her eyes were sparkling, she was genuinely grateful to see me and she looked happy. But that magic question, combined with a safe and honest environment, allowed her to stop the charade and let it all go.

What proceeded to come out of her mouth was a situation that I knew I could not fix. As my mind was striving to find the right words and the most comforting gestures, I found myself praying instead. I was praying that God would intervene. I prayed that God would be her comfort and be her source of peace; that he would love her and reveal Himself to her in and through these (horrible) circumstances that had her pouring out to me.

I didn’t have the right words to say and I most certainly didn’t have the answers that would make everything o.k. for her, but as we departed and she assured me  that “she’d be fine.” I left with a sense of confidence that she really will be more than fine. I trust that God will work in and through her situation. I’ve been in her shoes where I have needed a friend, sounding board, confidant, and shoulder to cry on. It is true that no one and nothing can fix us when we’re broken, but it sure is a gift from God when we have someone to walk alongside of us in those times of need and as much as prayer doesn’t seem like enough, I know she is not alone.