"Two are better than one. Because they have a good return for their work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But, how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of THREE STRANDS (You, Me, and God) is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 3:4:9-12
That's a rather catchy phrase, huh? I thought when I ran across it on a mug in one of my many catalogs (been a catalog shopper since I was young as we did not live close to retail stores). It was the inspiration for the theme I chose for our "20th" Annual "Be Our Valentine" Seniors Feast which our Church Family celebrated last Sunday at the Tustin Banquet Center, with 78 in attendance. This event started here in 1995 as a way to honor those in our congregation who had done so much to make sure that this church stood the tests of time. What a joyful feeling to look out and see faces of those who had attended the very first one (Jeen Bennett, Ray Bennett, Florence Brownfield, Irene Cave, Shirley Emery, Elsie Nelson, Pastor Henry Sellers, and Sonja Sellers) which had been held right here in our fellowship hall. There was, however, a note of sadness to realize that so many faces were no longer present, but quickly having that joy restored when the reminder came that, though not present with us here, they are present forever in Heaven with their Father. Lots of changes in twenty years, but what had not changed was the "love" and "friendship" that has been and was evident in the room last Sunday- - - lots of "chocolate chips."
A Swedish proverb (the gist of which I'm certain was taken from Ecclesiastes, though no credit given) says the same thing: "What are friends for, if not to help you up when you fall, to wipe your tears when you cry, to laugh with you when you rejoice, and to sing for you when you've lost your voice? SHARED JOY is a double joy; SHARED SORROW is half a sorrow." Everyone, and I do mean everyone, needs that kind of friend - not because I say so, but because it's part of God's plan for all of us.
These simple truths we often take for granted, but the older we get, we realize just how important friendship is. It's really a two-way street, where in order to have a friend, you must be a friend. In a plaque displayed on the piano in our home. Helen Walton shares that "It's not what you gather, but what you scatter that tells what kind of life you have lived". I hope that the things of God that we scatter along the journey of our lives will bring to us and we will keep many "friends" ("chocolate chips").
Wishing you a blessed weekend as we fellowship together as friends,
Charlotte Adams
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