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An Unexpected Kindred Spirit

Our visit was short—only a few hours. I didn’t know much about her background, interests, or family—only that they had escaped from religious persecution in their home country and were seeking asylum in America. 

Unfortunately we didn’t meet until right before they moved away from our state, and with our busy lives—hers and mine—there was little hope of building a deeper relationship long-distance. But in that short few hours talking with this mom, I felt that I had found a friend: someone whose culture, mother tongue, and life experiences were vastly different from my own, but whose heart, like mine, was to serve the Lord and care for her family as best as she could. And I came away from our conversation refreshed by her faithful example.  

A Mysterious Message

We were on our way home from church one Sunday afternoon, the day before my birthday, and I was having a text conversation with my mom and sister-in-law, who live in what we here in Hawaii call “the mainland” (the contiguous 48 states). My sister-in-law forwarded a voicemail someone had mistakenly sent her that was intended for me, and my mom answered, “Ok I’ll give to K – I’m at their house.” At first I thought I had read something wrong—after all, my mom was an ocean and a continent away. Then I thought it must have been a typo. “Really?” I started to answer, looking for an appropriate laughing emoji. “You’re at my house?” 

Then suddenly it hit me. My birthday was the next day . . . what if she had really come? I hated to let her know that the surprise had been leaked two minutes before we arrived. So I just sat there with a puzzled expression on my face the rest of the ride home, then jumped out and opened our front door—running into the open arms of my mom! She hadn’t realized that I was in that text conversation, of course, and we had many a laugh about the almost-surprise. What a blessing it was to have her with us—like a breath of fresh air, a reminder that I was loved and that the bonds of fellowship were stronger than the distance between us.

Actually, our guest room has gotten quite a bit of use by both family and friends since we moved to Hawaii a year and a half ago. On one of my mom’s visits, she brought my grandmother along, and two of my best friends came to visit along with their husbands and children. (Not questioning their motives in the least, but I’m glad for their sakes that we live in a tourist destination!)

Refreshing Relationships

What makes these visits so refreshing is not only that we can talk together about what’s going on in our lives right now, but that we have a history of caring for each other. For years these family members and friends have encouraged us, prayed for us, and helped us along the way, and their willingness to spend money and sacrifice days or weeks of their time to fly out and see us is just a continuation of that history.

But even deeper than that, our friends and family truly refresh us when we know they have the same Leader and are walking the same road. Perhaps you have a good friend who shares with you things she’s learning from her personal Bible study or calls you at a set time each week to pray with you about your current struggles and goals. Perhaps you once had a mentor who made a huge difference in your life without even realizing it. Perhaps you found encouragement where you weren’t even looking for it—in the biography of a Christian long passed to glory or the candid words of a young child. Or perhaps you are currently in a dry, lonely period of life, but you are finding hope and refreshment in the greatest source of all: your relationship with our Beloved Jesus who sticks closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24) and uses even what others intended for evil to bless us and those around us (Gen. 50:20).

In this day of consistently bad, fake, or disturbing news, we need more than ever to practice thanking the Lord for His goodness, setting our minds on the truth, and being thoroughly intentional about refreshing others. And that is what the “Refreshed” section of this blog is here to celebrate. It’s my prayer that reading how others have brought refreshment with their words, actions, or just-being-there visits will encourage us to do the same for those in our circle of influence. 

Your Turn to Write

What about you—how have your friends or family, neighbors or strangers blessed you? In what ways does that challenge you to give thanks to God for them or to follow their example in bringing refreshment to someone else? 

Please share your answers using the form below; I’d love to include some more “Refreshed” stories in future posts!

May the posts that follow inspire and motivate us to lift the hands of the weary and strengthen them for the spiritual battles that lie ahead.

Lord, thank You for how our kindred-spirit friends sharpen, refresh, and rejoice us with their visits. Thank you for their faithfulness in following You and their generosity in caring for us. Please let me be such a friend to others!

How this works:

• Submissions must include your full name and valid, current email in order to be considered for publication. If I choose to publish your submission, I can either list your full name, your first name and last initial only, or just write “anonymous”–your choice.
• Only send edifying material. You may tell of trials or difficult truths, but always in the context of praising God and building up the reader. Do not share anything that could be considered embarrassing or defamatory to those involved (if you need to include negative experiences that involve someone else, either completely conceal their identity, or get their permission first).
• Posting on this website is at the sole discretion and choice of Refresh Publishing, and is not guaranteed.
• Only submit your original, copyright-free anecdotes. All material submitted becomes the property of Refresh Publishing and may be used in future online, electronic, or printed media without further notice, permission, or reimbursement.
• I will edit for readability and correctness of grammar, spelling, etc.