October 12
Scripture: Prov 17:9
Source author: Julie Durham
October 12
The Investment Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends. —Proverbs 17:9
I felt sucker-punched as I realized Anna had not been honest with me. “You lied!” burst out of my lips. “Well, not really,” Anna said with a frown, but she wouldn’t meet my eyes. And I wasn’t surprised when she avoided me at work and in social situations. It hurt. Deeply. I’d considered Anna one of my closest friends. With her avoidance, I missed her camaraderie. But she lied! She really hurt me! my heart cried out. I knew I faced a choice. My inclination was to back off from Anna—not be rude to her, but to let the distance between us increase so she couldn’t hurt me again. But we’d been friends so long. In a sense, I realized, a friendship is an investment. And Anna and I had invested a lot in each other’s lives for a decade. The Lord nudged my heart. Are you really going to let that time go to waste? You’ve had too many good years to let it be destroyed by this. It’s really minor in the big picture of your friendship.
I sighed. I asked God for courage and picked up the phone to call Anna.
A friendship is an investment that can yield great dividends over the long run. — Julie Durham —