“Friends, Companions.”

H,

There is no greater longing in the human soul than to be understood. We arrange the complex web of our social relationships so we can spend more time where we are understood and accepted than anywhere else. There is nothing more painful and lonely than when we come to the realization that there is no place where this understanding is complete. People can bear almost anything, as long as they are not alone when they are going through it.

We have friends, companions because human suffering is real, it is physical, mental, spiritual, and relentless. We are tied to a plane that is almost absurd, almost obscured by the darkness and, without love and light, not worth the price of admission. I do not mean to be dark. This is just the way things are. People with material means feel it. People with no materials means feel it. It is the weight of the world. And we all need a friend.

We can find that in each other. It is great for brothers and sisters to spend time together in the unity of love. We all need that human connection and power. We will find it in the darkest hole and cling to it even when it is more dark than light.

Yet, there are places no other soul can go. There is a version of you beyond all human eyes and comprehension. There is the isolation that comes with being an individual. A part of the soul that cannot be cured in a group. This is where the companionship of God begins. This is talking, listening, following, being aware of and loving God. It is not, as has been advertised, this tit for tat, praise him for raises, you only get what you give nonsense. There is nothing you can give Him but yourself. There is nothing within worship than first letting God love you. The rest is a list of gimmicks made up to serve the formula of man’s attempt to reach God.

First, let us let Him be our friend. Let us talk, even in shadows, as if He is here with us, even before we believe this is true. Let us find in that love and grace, the full picture of who we are made to be. There is no time but now, right now, to remember again our first calling and instinct: to love and to be loved. Let it begin with love Himself.