Sweet Counsel

I have loved having good, wisdom-filled conversations with thoughtful, Godly people.  I want to be able to offer thoughtful and Godly advice to my friends and confidants.  That, I have learned, starts with listening.  When I was in high school, a good friend of mine often spoke about pat answers and how unhelpful they are.  (That is when you say, "Well, God is good in all He does" after a friend has just told you that her car broke down and she lost her job.  It is very true that God is good in all He does, but that isn't what a friend in a really crummy situation needs to hear.)  Now that I am approaching 40, I see how true that is.  At Bible Study last night, I was talking with a friend about the realness and nastiness of life.  As I shared with her the sad shock of friends of mine who are having real marital difficulties, she told me about a friend of hers who is seriously contemplating suicide.  Life is not easy.  Life's difficulties call for much more than pat answers.  We need to listen-to really listen, and then to offer God's healing words of hope and help.