“Those who are alone when they fall have no one to help
them." ~ Ecclesiastes 4:10
Jordan cautiously opened the
letter handwritten by an old friend’s mother.
She wrote that her daughter was dying of a terminal illness and wondered
if Jordan might want to come visit her.
Years ago a nasty teen-aged fight ended their childhood
friendship. It was stupid; they were
immature, but neither had made any attempt to patch things up. It might be time.
Jordan boarded a plane the very next day.
As the aircraft soared above the clouds, youthful memories
flooded back. Chloe had left a footprint
on Jordan’s heart. “Would you like to
come over and play with my new puppy?” was all it took to cement a bond that
would last almost to high school graduation.
For a dozen years, the two were nearly inseparable. They shared hopes, dreams, and fears without
judging. Chloe knew her every smile,
laugh and cry for what it really meant.
It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies though; they had
their disagreements. They’d bicker and
use the silent treatment occasionally, but it never lasted very long. Even then, their fights were infrequent.
Then came their senior year, and what amounted to nothing
more than a misunderstanding. Chloe
asked for permission to date Jordan’s ex-boyfriend. Jordan was furious; she still hurt from
something he’d done. “Chloe should’ve
have had my back,” she thought. That
included the #1 BFF Rule: “Never Date
Your Friend’s Ex.”
An argument ensued, feelings were injured, a bond was broken.
Jordan cried for much of the flight’s remainder and well
into the taxi ride to the hospital.
She entered Chloe’s room in the ICU but wasn’t prepared for what
confronted her – so many tubes and monitors.
She rushed to her old friend and apologized profusely. Chloe interrupted her. “It's all right my dear friend. It was my fault. You’re here – that’s all that counts now."
They spent the whole day together, reminiscing about
childhood pranks, days of crying over boys, and zany memories from the beach
house. Jordan stayed with Chloe until
she whispered her last words: "I love you so much Jordan! I couldn't have asked for a better way to
spend my last day on earth. I thank God
for You!"
Jordan had almost waited too long to forgive her
friend. Have you been there? If you’re human, you probably have.
Among the other mistakes we make when we stuff ourselves
inside a self-made god, is the assumption that forgiveness is ours to give. But forgiveness, like life itself, doesn’t have
our name inscribed on it. It’s not our
property, much less our tool or weapon. It flows from the one true God through us by
the Holy Spirit to others.
Lord, we have hearts like mules. Sometimes, the very thing that we think will
preserve us, destroys us. Let your
forgiveness wash over us and into others, so that, together, we discover what a
joy it is to ‘bury the hatchet’ in an unmarked grave. Amen
