My colleague in the law and who I consider a good friend lost his adult son a couple of years ago in a car wreck. The young man was, like any of us with children, the apple of his parents' eye, their only child, and the loss was what some here have known and others of us haven't.

Anyway, in a casual work email yesterday he told me he was taking today off because it is his son's birthday, and that it is "still pretty rough. Every day I wake up is the new worse day of my life."

He also lost his dad about a month ago after a long illness.

It broke me up for him and his wife. Please pray for them here in Alabama if you think of it today.

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Tim

That's pretty rough to hear. He certainly sounds depressed.

I pray he can move on- at least to some degree.

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Todd

Prayer lifted for your friend.

Praying

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Lisa

Praying for your friend. Three years may seem long to some, but I lost my husband almost three years ago and it still seems like yesterday. If your friend is not a believer, it will be even more difficult. If he is a believer, remind him to turn his eyes to Jesus and focus on his goodness and mercy; these are really a source of comfort.

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Natalie

I want to refresh this thread for a couple of days, please.

My friend and I were in court on Monday. He brings his laptop with him on some dockets and Monday was one of those. Usually, when he uses it in the courtroom he is working on things not related to his law practice (he has other 'irons in the fire', including military service). I sat down next to him and noticed his screen was filled with Scripture. He is a COC member and active in his church.

I asked, "What are you working on? Sunday school lesson?" He sort of nodded and said, "Yeah." He then started talking about church. He's a very nice guy. It lead to a conversation about his beliefs in the Church of Christ and my beliefs as a Pentecostal-Holiness kind of guy. It was so very relaxed and friendly. Then, I talked to him about our home meetings.

He expressed no disaffection with his church, and I'm glad. But, he did express a keen interest in what we're doing. He asked for our meeting time and my home address. He said he'd talk to his wife, that they might come one night. Yesterday -- Wednesday -- we were in court again on a similar kind of docket. The conversation picked up where we left off two days earlier. He said he told his wife about what we were doing, and she wanted to come. So, he asked me if we have room for two more. I was in inner shock in a way, but I just gave him my friendliest "you bet" smile and details about food, etc. (We cook and prepare it all, typically, except for some desserts that one sister just --- oy vey! --- excels in.) He said they'll be there this weekend.

My reason for bringing all this up is that I don't really think this is about their intellectual or religious curiosity. I do think this is about their own brokenness and need for real love. Although I will be the only one who knows them when they come this weekend, pray that God will love them through us in a way that they've never known. Like Carter Conlon said a couple of weeks ago, and I'm paraphrasing a bit, "Let your word be seen in us even before it is heard from us." We want to be quick to be loving to them and for them to know the Lord through it, and to be comforted by Him.

Where are they spiritually? I'll leave that to the Lord to sort out for now. They are professing believers who, by their affiliation at the very least, can probably be called serious about what the Bible says. Perhaps God will lead them to more of Himself in ways they never imagined were possible. Please pray for that for them.

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Tim