Encouragement

---

A Phone Booth in Kentucky…

He called one night from a phone booth in Kentucky… He lived in Texas. Something was wrong. A grown man that could bench press three-hundred pounds was crying hysterically on the other end of the phone. He said his wife had left him and he was running out of money. There was a gun in the car, and he was considering using it on his head. In the confusion of it all, he had one question for me, “Where is your God in all of this?”

They’d been married six months. One day she came home and told him she loved him, but wasn’t in love with him. I’m not really certain what that meant and I know he certainly didn't understand it at that time. He tried to change her mind with therapy, church counseling, and personal attention. However, nothing worked and one day her things were finally gone.

All he could think to do was drive. He drove far away from Texas and home. There was no intended destination, no deliberate path, he just drove.

The caller was my best friend. He was strong, intelligent, and handsome. I looked up to him and admired him. Intertwined in this was an innocent jealousy. He always seemed to do things right and make good decisions. Me? I was just the opposite; happy-go-lucky, misguided, and a slob. We were college roommates. He had his clothes neatly packed away in drawers; I had the three foot mound on the floor. I don’t know how he tolerated me.

We all have few true friends in life and many acquaintances, this was my true friend and I loved him.

“Where is your God in all of this?” These words cut like a knife through me. To say I wasn’t prepared for this would be a grave understatement. I wasn’t expecting this, particularly not from him. But here it was, and I was left to deal with it. Sure, I could have thought of a dozen good Sunday school answers for him. However, that did not seem appropriate here. He didn’t need a sermon, he needed a friend.

Hindsight is in fact 20/20. Looking back, I’ve come up with some great motivational speeches and reenacted the situation many times in my head. But none of those reenactments are what I told him. I just spoke from my heart.

My answer to him was simple. For the first time I told a friend I loved him and cared deeply for what happens to him. I couldn’t imagine life without him. I don’t pretend to know what God’s plan was for this, but he was there. I didn’t know what else to say so I asked him to stay where he was; I was coming to get him.

I had been raised with the understanding that you did not tell another man you loved him. This was for Gay people and I’m not Gay... Well, it isn’t the first thing I’ve been wrong about, and it won’t be the last either. It is amazing how the Lord takes situations in our lives to teach us so many things, break through barriers, and change the way we think. He is trying to make us more like him.

I was reminded of this story just the other day as we celebrated the first birthday of his child, a beautiful baby girl. A few years after his phone call, the Lord led him to a new wife and eventually a new child. He was given a new beginning.

I looked at how ugly I could have viewed him. He was a divorcee, remarried before he was even thirty, a man who was thinking of killing himself, and cursed God. When I think about how ugly I could see him, it only serves to remind me of how ugly I can be. Many of the orthodox foundations I had been taught as a child could have fed these thoughts. It was a Christianity filled with rules and regulations. However, it was not a picture of Christ’s love for mankind. I think C.S. Lewis said it best, “How can you be looking up to God, when you’re too busy looking down on others?”

But the question still remained. “Where is your God in all of this?” This time I could answer the question with no uncertainty. He was in the smiling face of a one year old child, a beautiful new wife, and a father who now praises God on his knees everyday with a Bible in hand. He is the God of forgiveness, grace, and renewal. And he is now and forever my best friend’s God; his new family is built on the true foundation of God’s love.

My friend and I speak often by email and phone, and every time I speak with him I tell him I love him. Today, our friendship is strengthened by our devoted bond in Christ, and I know we will be celebrating together in heaven one day serving our God. It is a genuine testament to how God loves us, no strings attached. I hope you tell your friends you love them as well. If not, today is a good day to start.

God Bless,

Jason K. Shanks

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE