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October 8, 2007

A Story About Friendship

by Shana Schutte

Our lives are a series of stories. Some of them make us cry, some make us laugh--and others are permanently inscribed on the tablets of our hearts as something we'll never forget.

Eleven years ago, God wrote a story in my life about friendship that I'll remember forever.

Because I'm a curious soul with a zest for adventure, I moved to Germany when I was twenty-eight to teach English, and experience the European culture. With little money and a lot of hope, I prepared for my trip by learning the language, obtaining a passport, and praying for God to give me a German friend.

Because I knew that Europe is post-Christian, I also knew I would miss the support of my Christian community in the U.S. So I prayed, "Lord, please just give me one girlfriend to talk with about You--just one."

After living in Hamburg for three months, God still hadn't answered my prayer, and I was lonely for the comfort of someone who felt like home. About to give up on my petition, I thought, I guess the Lord didn't see fit to answer my prayer for a friend. It must not have been His will. My heart was heavy.

Two weeks later I went to church. A few moments after I arrived, a young woman about my age entered the sanctuary and sat next to me. It was one of those times when I didn't expect to hear God's voice when He spoke, "This is your friend", He said. I looked at God's gift to me and smiled. He had answered my prayer.

Over the following months, Nicola loved me and laughed with me--and to help me with my language skills, she refused to speak with me in anything but her native tongue. She gave me a ride to church and included me in the details of her life. She was a safe place for me while I fumbled through a foreign culture alone.

After one year, it was time for me to return home. The night before my departure, Nicola telephoned me crying, "I don't want you to go," she said, "You're my only real friend."

I invited her over for a visit before I Ieft. When she arrived to see me, she was still sad, so I asked her to sit and listen while I told her a story. For the first time, I shared how she was God's answer to my prayer. As she listened, tears streamed down her face and my heart rejoiced about the goodness of God.

How wonderful it is that we have a God who cares about us enough to bring others into our lives to love us, pray for us, and comfort us. Do you have a friend you are thankful for? I encourage you to tell them today that they are God's gift to you.

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up..." Ecclesiastes 4:9-10a (NIV)

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