“Life can be so hard that the temptation to quit or coast tempts us sorely. But there’s no joy to be had in stopping short. So when God rocks our world, we keep on believing. Not that we’ll have our way or that we won’t ever experience such awful hurt again. We keep on believing that God knows what He’s about. And that, if there were any place better for us than the one in which we find ourselves, Divine Love would have placed us there.”
-Charles Spurgeon

I’m usually not one to reference bible excerpts or religious quotes for that matter, but this day is a little different. My best friend from growing up, Lauren, sent me this quote in an email the other day. At first it seemed a little out of the blue, or just another one of her tries to preach on me (with the greatest intentions of course), but I was glad she sent it.

For a couple of reasons.

1. This quote from Charles Spurgeon, a popular British Baptist preacher from the 1800s, talks about something that I struggle with often throughout the year, as I’m sure most other people do, too. Every big decision we make, or every new road we chose to take, comes a lot of hope, and excitement for what lies ahead. But it is also usually paired eventually with a lot of struggle, and a lot of doubt. When this happens to me, I try to hang on as long as possible, but the tougher it gets, I ponder the thought of throwing in the towel and exhaling a defeating “Whatever” response. But for those few times when I stuck it out, kept my head up, and tried to keep the bigger picture in mind, it was worth it in the end. Because a lot of the time, the bigger the struggle, the bigger the reward. Am I right, or am I right?!

and 2. The main reason Lauren sent the email was because she had been thinking about this quote for a few days, and as it helped her push through, she thought it would help me push through as well. Instead of keeping Spurgeon’s quote to herself, she passed it on to someone else, in hopes that it would help them the same way it did her. It didn’t matter if the email seemed out of the blue, or if the recipient didn’t find relevance to the quote, it just mattered that she sent it. Because it showed she cared. And it showed that even though she’s 6 states away, she still thinks of me, and wants the best for me.

And that’s what I call true friendship. Being able to look past your personal issues, to help another. So thanks Lauren, for the email, and for always being there. For all those times you’ve tried to throw religious references on me, mark this as the day that you’ve finally gotten through to me.

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