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Friends in Strange Places


I was driving through Ashby de la Zouch yesterday when I saw her. It looked exactly like Suzy. I almost shouted out a greeting- until I realised how silly that would have been. Suzy lives in Nova Scotia,  Canada and is very unlikely to be walking through an East Midlands town in the UK.

But it did get me thinking. How I have found the most wonderful friends in the strangest of places.

I belong to the biggest family in the world. 2.3 billion and counting. It means I am never alone. I can be anywhere in the world and find a friend that shares my Christian faith.

The taxi driver in Auckland. The Pensions Manager at Cleanaway. The hiker in Snowdonia. The barista in Leicester.

I was caught in a snowstorm in the United States once and our plane ended up being diverted to Minneapolis St Paul’s airport. I had been sharing my Christian faith with the guy next to me on the flight- but seemingly with no interest from him. So as we arrived at an airport I didn’t want to be at in the middle of nowhere (Sorry Minneapolis St Paul’s, I’m sure it’s a great place!), I was feeling a bit low. I cried out to God, complaining. I was on my own, miles from home, in a place I didn’t want to be and in the middle of a snowstorm.  

It was then that the guy in the seat behind me leaned over and whispered in my ear. It seems he had been listening to my conversation.

‘I know Him too.’

It’s all he said. But it was enough.

I wasn’t on my own of course. God was with me. And in the loneliest of moments, there was someone there. One of my family.

My message is simple. You need never be alone. You can know God with you through Christ. Have a read of St Mark’s gospel and find Him. And you’ll find others on the same journey in the strangest of places. They know Him too.

And Suzy. If it was you, sorry I didn’t wave.

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