Christian Living

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I rang my friend Val, wanting to organise my daughter’s lift to a church camp-out. It was 8am on a school morning, a hectic time for most parents. I knew Val was also getting ready for a weekend away with her son.

“Hello?” Val’s voice sounded breathless.

“Hi, how are you going - busy?” I guessed.

“Oh, yeah….” She laughed. “I just keep telling myself to take a deep breath, then relax. Take another breath, then relax.”

That made me laugh. No matter how busy Val was, she managed to appear calm and happy.

We made plans for my daughter and chatted briefly before I finished the phone call.

I remarked to my husband how Val always made time to talk to friends, sharing and listening.

I was busy also and continued packing camping equipment that I needed to drop off to Val’s place. When I finally loaded all the gear into the car and was on my way into town, I decided not to turn on any music. Sometimes it is refreshing just to have that gift of quiet time, to think and meditate before a full day’s activities. I like to look at the native bush and appreciate being able to live in this part of the world.

After 25 minutes of driving in the country, followed by several minutes of steering through the outskirts of town, I approached a main road. I slowed down to stop at the intersection.

A ute was in front of me, it’s indicator flashing to turn right, just as I intended. On the back, stood a short black dog like a Staffordshire bull terrier. While I waited, I noticed a man walking his German Shepherd along the footpath on my left. It seems the terrier noticed him, too.

The dog bounded off the back of the ute and was on the footpath in a flash. He was jumping around the German Shepherd in excitement. It looked like he was keen to make friends. The owner of the ute also noticed the movements of his dog, and he opened his door, standing on the road, with one leg still in the cab.

“Macca!” he called across the roof of the ute. “Get back here!”

The little Staffy ignored him – preoccupied with meeting the big shaggy dog.

“Macca!” The driver walked around the front of the ute to get his dog, then hesitated in the road, looking back at the vehicle. I guessed he wondered if it was in the way of traffic. Only then, did he seem to consider me waiting behind him. He looked back at the dog, who was being restrained by the German Shepherd walker. He looked at me, then returned to his ute. I could see the exasperation on his face as he climbed in the cab.

The driver checked for traffic, then slowly did a U-turn to move out of the intersection and park on the side of the street just behind me. In my mirror, I watched him seize the dog - who was now in disgrace - and drop him in the back of the ute.

Not a very well disciplined dog, but he made me laugh. As I made my way through the intersection, I had to wonder at the events. It was something I pondered as I went about my day, juggling jobs and errands.

Two small, unrelated incidents that pointed to me the value of having friends. Life is certainly a lot more interesting and enjoyable when you make time for friends!


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Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times…” (NIV)

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