May 25, 2017

Greetings My Friend, I met Brenda when we moved to Virginia, Junior took her son under his wing teaching him how to work. After her son had spent a couple of years underneath Junior's wing he went out and got a job. Brenda has continued to be in our life and we have a fondness for her. Brenda sees the glass as half empty and is prone to a lot of doom and gloom in her thinking which is a challenge for me because I see the glass as half full. She has finished her chemo therapy, now she is preparing to have a mastectomy which means she is full of anxiety. She is sure the doctor's are messing things up, she hates the apartment she is living in, the list does not end. I keep pointing her back to Jesus but she has to "plan" for all of the potential problems,I long for her to know the peace Jesus will bring to her life. We had talked for a few minutes she hung up then texted me telling me I am her rock which I responded that Jesus is her rock. My heart understands her anxiety but understanding does not make it any easier to watch her struggle. Brenda believes in Jesus, has had moments in the past year where she drew near to Him then she's back into over thinking her life. In all of this I start seeing that I need to take her to prayer a whole lot more again. I go through spurts of praying for her constantly then I drift off to other prayers only to be reminded that I need to bring her to the Lord more. When I am bringing her to the Lord with prayer I am more confident of how to be her friend and I see her quieting down her anxiety levels as well. I have learned through the years that I don't need to keep repeating a prayer request to God, He heard me the first time. This bothered me until I realized that God does know my prayer request but the repeating helps me and God knows I need it. By repeating my prayer I am learning to stay focused on Jesus and how He would handle the situation. I learn to keep my problem at the foot of the cross which is where it needs to stay, not in my hands trying to "fix" it. I am calmer when I talk to Brenda and I don't fuss at her, I am able to point her back to the healer of all problems the Lord Jesus. I do not fall prey to Brenda's doom and gloom attitude which for me is rather easy to go back to. Brenda does not need lectures she has heard them all, she needs me to let her ramble on, point her back to Jesus and slowly I hear her turning to Jesus. Once in awhile Brenda will call me, I will be pointing her to Jesus when she hangs up irritated. Later she texts me telling me she knows I only want her best, she needs to empty her thoughts out. I believe God wants Brenda to choose Him, to trust Him and through me He is reaching out to her. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet