We have a wonderful birch tree in full leaf right beside our bedroom window. Biologists tell me it will, from now until October, provide all the oxygen my wife and I will need this year. I like that tree. During summer storms its leaves brush against the glass as if asking to come in out of the rain. Sometimes it creaks and groans like an old man with arthritis. Ice on a January night bend it over and it will rattle against the sash reminding me how blessed I am to be inside. Through the years it has become my friend and I worry about it and I hope it can endure all the weather that comes its way.
I also have human friends who nourish me. Their care provides for my inner weather. When I am sunny they smile with me. When I am troubled by some storm they listen and rarely argue. They just allow me to talk. Good friends are like that. They know that often the best cheering up is to say nothing. They just listen until my storm subsides.
Life would be unbearable without friends. To sit home alone and think only of one’s self creates a horrible downward spiral. Psychologists say solitary confinement in a windowless prison cell is one of the worst punishments. We are above all things social creatures, not made to be alone. We need contact. Of course the One who created us knows that. That is why He promises to be available 24/7. Just call. He’s a great listener. He is the best of friends and like my birch tree; He provides constant company and lots of oxygen.
Written by Roger Bothwell on May 15, 2011
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org