You need a friend to say, ‘the burden you’re carrying is heavy.’ You’re carrying too much, and that’s why it’s hard. Maybe you will hear that, and you will cry because in your soul you knew it was heavy, too heavy, but no one else had noticed.

You need a friend to say, ‘the burden you’re carrying is heavy.’ You’re carrying too much, and that’s why it’s hard. Maybe you will hear that, and you will cry because in your soul you knew it was heavy, too heavy, but no one else had noticed.
We looked at each other, and we just knew. She told me about her child’s cancer diagnosis, and I told her about my weakening legs.
Have you ever taken someone’s hurtful words about you deep into your soul, only to later realise that those words were a lie that you should have rejected?
This post is all about that process, and how to respond when someone’s words cut you to the quick.
Covenant friends are friends you commit to for life, a bit like a marriage relationship, but without necessarily the geographical proximity. (And without the sex, obviously).
I feel a little embarrassed even comparing platonic friendships with marriage, and I think that sense of shame is worth noting – we have to explain or apologise for close friendships. Our society unconsciously sends the message that intimacy and commitment is reserved only for romantic relationships, so we treat very close friendships with suspicion.
It’s easy to think that God was punishing me. That’s certainly the sort of theology that permeated my childhood. My depression, and the scattering of people from my life were one big judgement. I found a home in the wailing language of the Psalms.
We have been best friends since we were sixteen. (That’s a lot of years). We joke about how we live parallel lives – but that may just be because every time we speak we say, “yes! That’s exactly how I’m feeling too!” and we laugh and suddenly the world feels different, because we thought we […]
There has been a lot of debate about the effects that social media is having on our society and Christian community. Tim Chester, a Christian author I respect a great deal, has recently written a blog series on the dangers of Facebook. In one post, he wrote this: “Facebook encourages you to live elsewhere. The […]