Friends + Strangers = Family

(Originally written on June 26, 2008)

Photo by: Jenn (theflyingrat)

I began my day at one of the area hospitals. I had been asked by a church member to come and pray with a friend of hers who was to undergo a biopsy procedure. I was not the only one there. There was a collection of people - some were friends, some were family, and some were strangers. For me, I only knew about half of the group. The rest I had never seen or met before. The same would have been true for the others as well. We gathered in one corner of the lobby, formed a circle, and joined hands to pray.

I did not know either of the people whose hands I held.

The thing that struck me, however, is that it didn’t matter.

In that moment, we all were single minded. We were completely joined in a common endeavor. Even though we were strangers to each other, we were connected. We were a fellowship of believers. We were a different parts of the same body. We were a family of faith. We were far from strangers.

Blest be the tie that binds…