Have you ever found yourself at a point in your life when you really needed someone to just be there for you? To support you when you’re down.
Perhaps the reason for your discouragement is your own fault, or perhaps you’ve been unjustly wronged. Perhaps you’ve been in an accident or become ill. Perhaps you’ve been rejected by family, a friend, an employer. Or maybe you’re suffering from grief.
A person can feel so miserable that they can hardly even pray. Faith goes by the wayside.
In times like these, a supportive friendship can make all the difference. It’s not all about words. Definitely not scolding. Think of the story of Job. His friends accused him of secret sins and told him God was punishing him. Adding insult to injury.
No, not scolding or bad advice like Job’s wife gave him—to curse God and die.
Rather, what a person needs is someone to just be there with them. To listen to the sadness, grief, anger, self-blaming. Be a sounding board. Pray with and for the person. Do something together.
Years ago, when I went through a very discouraging period in my life in which I found it hard to even pray, a close Christian friend was there for me. We went for long walks. We looked after each other’s children. She prayed with me often, and for me when we weren’t together. It made all the difference to me. Later, she went through a similar situation, and I was able to pray for her.
In my book, Something Old and Something New, the main character, Jennifer, is a supportive person. Upon hearing that her teenage granddaughter is pregnant, after the initial shock, she and her husband are there to help. And as she knits things for the baby, she reminisces about her own teen years in the 1960s. A time when she was there for her best friend, who had also become pregnant. Although they had lost touch for many years, her friend comes back into the picture, and they are there for each other once again in other circumstances.
Jennifer and her husband also help out other people that they meet in the story. And people from their church help them when they need it.
My writing theme is Poignant Stories with Splashes of Humor and Threads of Romance. Although they touch on difficult topics, I try to not make my books too heavy or depressing. Life happens. There are always tough things going on. But there is also always something amusing here and there to lighten the load. And bits of romance to spice things up.
My novel, Something Old and Something New, is available on Amazon. It is part of a series but also reads well as a stand-alone. The books in the series can be read in any order.
Jennifer, not yet that old grandmother of four, suddenly learns that she is soon to become a great grandmother already. Initially upset that her teenage granddaughter is pregnant, with the support of her husband, she puts things in perspective. As she knits a blanket for the baby, she recalls her own teen years, growing up in the sixties.
Pearl Ada Pridham is an award-winning author of Something I Haven’t Told You. She lives on Vancouver Island, off the west coast of Canada. When not writing, she may be walking the beautiful beaches and trails with her little shitzu, trying new foods and recipes, or participating in volunteer work. Learn more at https://PearlAdaPridham.com