“Thank you for being here.”
Disheveled and unshowered, I held tears back as my friend, M, lay a blanket over me. I was a tent folded in on itself bereft of stakes and ropes, and she propped me up.
“This feels normal for me to do for a friend, so don’t worry okay.”
There M sat, across the room, all the days I was in hospital.
“Where did a friend like M come from?” Cliff asked. I’d only got to know her a year ago through my blog.
M’s sitting with me reached deep. Her quiet, unpretentious sharing with me about her own journey through cancer (we are nearly the same age) while I was in HD/ICU, and her quietly holding space for me told me- I am here to sit with you, walk with you. I am not here to tell you what to feel or correct your theology. You are not alone.
As I pored through the chapter of Job’s friends in “Suffering Wisely and Well” by Eric Ortlund, I reflected on the times I wished I’d spoken less and simply, listened more. As I took notes on how I too, like M, could be a better friend to others in future, I hope the notes I took will be helpful for you, too.