God was present when Dr. Pate whacked me on the rear in the delivery room, and I spat out my first cry while sucking into my body the breath of God and became a living Soul.

I will return to that thought in a moment.

Today a friend died. What makes the death notable is it is in my hometown.

I happen to be on business in New Mexico and in the town of my childhood. I passed by the little building that once had “Hospital,” posted in the driveway and above the door.

No longer a hospital, it shares in common houses and stores no longer filled with friends. It is easy to reminisce as I drive from street to street. Once a vibrant network of friends and family—my old comfort blanket reveals only a few remaining threads.

Friends, parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and schoolmates die. Houses once familiar where memories formed, now house the unknown.

For a declared introvert my path through life is blessed with abundant friends and relatives. Some brought their friendship into my life for a season. The depth of their influence upon my life will go unknown to them this side of the garden.

Some graced my life for twenty to sixty-six years with friendship. There will come a time when most will be gone or I will depart and our friendship on this earth will end.

Proverbs 18 shares several examples of foolish behavior. The Psalmist tells me, should I act in certain dumb ways, I can expect bad to happen. Interspersed within all of the cautionary warnings are a few nuggets of wisdom. What catches my attention is the summation sentence: one who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Unreliable friends—like a hair dryer dropped in a sink of water—cause destruction. Like others, there are spots in my life when unreliable pseudo-friends did not merit trust.

What catches my eye today is not the warning against unreliable friends, rather the news of a forever friend.

Blessed with a few close friends, our game plan is to finish life together. However, even with the best of friends there is a limit to how much interaction we have on earth.

I have wonderful siblings. Among life-long siblings, geography limits our closeness. The Psalmist was right. There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother [or a sister].

That friend is God.

He was present when the doc whacked my backside to clear my lungs. God breathed into me the breath of life giving me a living soul. It was at that exact moment as a living being I started my journey toward eternity.

For the past 66 years, God who desires my friendship has been by my side. Since He wants to be able to walk with me on the trip to His garden, He sent Jesus to make me worthy of His friendship. In the role of a close friend, God cheers me each step I take on the journey of turning into righteousness. When steps go astray, He sends me signals to return to the path and forgives me through His Son Jesus.

When my way parts with friends of earth’s journey, there will be no reason to feel alone. For, I will still have a friend who sticks closer than a brother or a sister.

That’s not a bad companion.

Stay tuned. – Gary J. Sorrells