My Journal Jottings

Last week I spent a day and night in a small house on the Blue Ridge Parkway, an annual overnight retreat for some younger friends, all in ministry.

Turns out all of them are dealing with father issues – one whose father recently died, another whose dad has had a series of strokes, the father of the third recently diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

We have shared joys in ministry and family together; this time we shared losses. And the following words I read reaffirmed the need for spiritual friendships.

Need

When life is hard, what I most need is not always what I want. What I want is for life to be easy. What I want is for someone or something to come along and make it all go away. But I need tenderness. What I need is to be loved. What I need is a companion for the journey. – Br. James Koester, Society of Saint John the Evangelist