Meditatio: I used to think that Proverbs 17:17 was only about friendships with God. Especially the part about there being someone that sticks closer than a brother. Over the summer, I went to Kenya as part of a mission team. Before I left the USA, I was terribly sick. I woke up on Sunday morning and called my parents and said "Just forget it, I'll pay the church their money back, I can't go." I wasn't nervous of flying, Kenya didn't scare me. I had gotten a stomach bug and flying in the lavatory just wasn't my idea of a good mission trip. Once on the ground in Kenya, I was still ill. So ill in fact that I finally threw in the towel, literally. I was done. I didn't want to be in Kenya, I just wanted to be home. I even told off my team and packed my bags. I was done. Yet my own team, saw me at my worst and they still loved me. They knew that I had been stressed about the trip, trying to make sure we all had everything we needed; and that we all got on the ground safely. And they knew that being sick had stressed me out too. That morning, they gathered around me and prayed that I would get better and have a good rest of the trip. I can't lie and say that I don't suffer embarrassment from my behavior, I do. But my friends chose forgiveness and they stuck with me while I was ill.
Oratio: Father, humbly I come to you seeking that you would make me the kind of friend that loves at all times and that will stick closer than someone's own family. Help us to love others as you have loved us.
Contemplatio: Are you the kind of friend that forgives? Do you hold things against others even after they have apologized? Are you a brother that was born for adversity? Do you know someone like that and what qualities do they have?
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