Page 74 - Grace150 Devotional

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17
We were not meant to live in isolation but rather to live in community. We
crave friends who love us and accept us both in good times and when it’s tough.
When adversity strikes, there is nothing so comforting as a brother or sister to
help bear the load. And true friends form a symbiotic relationship that results in
both benefiting from their association.
It was 1982. We were new to Peoria and we were experiencing a very cold and
dreary winter. Our three young children were suffering back to back to back
chicken pox, which meant I was housebound for six weeks. It was my new friends
from the Growing in Grace Sunday school class that provided the encouragement
for that season. And our friendships continued to deepen over the next 11 years
as we lived life together in the Peoria area.
Those relationships formed during the 1980s continue to sustain and encourage
us now, 36 years later. We have gone from raising children together, to caring for
and saying goodbye to parents. In every season we have found comfort in and
with our Grace Presbyterian Church friends.

Heavenly Father, as we walk in community with those You have brought into
our lives, we ask that You will guide us to be true friends who look not only to
our own interests, but also to the interests of others.
– Kathy Lorimor

Larry and Kathy attended Grace from 1982 to 1993. They currently live in Georgetown,
Texas. Kathy was a member of the committee that developed the Well-Versed kids program.

DAY 67 grace 150