Bearing our Burdens

I was doing some thinking yesterday about friendship. One of the things that really struck me was how friendship is expressed in brokenness. The power of friendship is almost magnified when friends meet each other in their brokenness. My pastor back home in CT once asked us during a sermon how many friends we have that will cry with us or offer their shoulders to cry on. At the time, I had trouble coming up with someone, but now as I answer that question 9 years later, I can honestly say that I have a handful of friends who will bear my burdens with me. And this is such a gift, a blessing, a small glimpse into the grace of God. Being able to sit with a friend and listen, offer advice, and pray for them is a powerful thing. To have someone listen to me, cry with me, let me cry on their shoulder, hold me in their arms, and pray for me is beyond what I imagined I would have in my life. It's easy enough to be someone's friend when life is good, but what happens when the rain comes? Are we going to take shelter and remove ourselves from the situation? Galatians 6:2 says that bearing each other's burdens fulfills the law of Christ. Does this mean empathy is a call on all our lives, and not just the emotional people? I think there is a line to be drawn between empathizing and being swept away in other people's problems, but I think true friendship is exressed best in brokenness and we are called to ache with other people. And on a side note, I don't think bearing each other's burdens means just with our friends, but with all people, but that is another entry all together=)

Life is coming at me fast right now. It seems like everytime a question is answered, 3 more questions arise. I am left in a perpetual state of questioning! But I suppose that's a good thing. God is faithful. He is my rock.This is something I am constantly coming back to as I leave the past in the past and press on each day.