A Rope Of Three Strands

A Rope of Three Strands

A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

“How are you? Are you doing okay?”

As I read Kate’s text early one morning, I shook my head in wonder. She always seems to know when I’m having a hard day, and this morning was no exception. I appreciate that I can be gut-wrenchingly honest with Kate. When she asks how I’m doing, she is asking because she senses something isn’t quite right. She has an incredible gift of discernment, and she is tuned in to those around her with a gentle sensitivity I’ve never encountered before.

Kate is a fierce defender of me in prayer, and I’ve received her prayers in just about every form of communication available—in text, in person, over the phone, in letters, and everything in between. And I do the same for her. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve prayed over one another on the phone, each of us sitting in the parking lot at our respective offices, followed by a check-in text at the end of a tough day.

One of the things I love most about Kate is that she doesn’t shame me in my weaknesses. She knows the places I tend to struggle, I know the places she tends to struggle, and we are the gap-standers for one another in those areas—we recognize when the other is starting to believe a lie instead of God’s truth and gently remind each other of who we are, to whom we belong, and how God is using our skill sets.

I love the image of a triple-braided cord as a picture of my friendship with Kate. I treasure our friendship for a number of reasons, but especially the central role Jesus plays in it. He is the third strand of our cord that is not easily severed, and our relationship is among the biggest blessings in my life.

— Julie

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Invite Jesus to be the third strand of your friendships by actively praying for and with your friends for a month—you will see a difference in your life and theirs.