A Very Dear Friend

I have a good friend named Billie.  She is as old as my grandmother.  She loves her family, loves crafts, and loves to hang out with her friends.  She is also adventuresome.  Sometimes Billie is a bit to adventuresome for my comfort.

This past summer Billie was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.  She was sitting with her friend in front of an ice cream shop waiting for a parade to start. She is allergic to the sun and the sun was blazing that day.  Billie decided to wear a long sleeve shirt, a light weight hat with a wide brim, and sun glasses.  To top the outfit off she had on very thick jeans.  Next thing she knows she could not focus her eyes and then got dizzy and passed out for about 5 minutes.  She nearly had a heat stroke!  Good grief Billie!  Is the parade that important?!!

I get a little worked up over some of the choices Billie makes but I love her.  The funny thing is I have no idea what she looks like.  Billie and I have never met in person.

My husband works for a college ministry and we have to raise all of our money.  Much of the money we raise comes from churches.  Billie goes to one of those churches that use to support us.  This particular church would send out newsletters to all the missionaries they support.  They would ask volunteers from their church to write a short letter they could mail to each of their missionaries along with the newsletters.  It was like finding a nugget of gold seeing a little note tucked in with each newsletter we received from this church.   I was so touched that someone from the church would take the time to write to us, I would write back.  Billie was one of those kind souls who wrote to us and continued to answer my letters with news about herself and her family.

This writing relationship has been going on for almost five years.  Our relationship exists because Billie and I are intentional about keeping in touch with each other.  In fact our relationship has become so intimate that we still write to each other even though this particular church does not financially support us any longer.  In the most recent letter I received from her she closes by saying “You are a very dear friend.  If I can find a picture of me I’ll send it to you.  I love you, Billie”.  What intimacy we can have by just being intentional.

Do you have any relationships you are currently in that are intimate because of being intentional?


May I have intimacy with You, Father!  May I desire to spend time with You and draw closer to You.  May I love You more today than I did yesterday....