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April 30, 2008

A Cord Of Three Strands Is Not Easily Broken

I have often heard the above scripture in reference to a married couple or to a couple that is getting married. If we have God in our marriages we are like a cord of three strands.....strong and not easily broken.

I have been thinking this week that this also applies to the gift of friendship. God blesses us with great friendships with all different types of people. The more I think about that the more I think I understand it's purpose. I have many different types of friends. Some are the serious intellectual type, some are shy, some are the life of any party, some are funny, and some are a mixture of all of that. I think the purpose is this. We have different types of friends to deal with or share different areas of our lives. Our lives are complex. We deal with different issues every single day. Some are joyous wonderful things and some are hard painful overwhelming things. That is just a fact of daily life. Sometimes the situation we are in determines which friend we go to to share that issue. The greatest blessing is having many friends to share our lives with. We are never defenseless because we always have someone to share whatever is going on in our lives at the moment. Because we are blessed with more than one friend...we have many to share with and no one friend gets overwhelmed. Isn't that a great gift from God....a friend to go to in each situation and a God to bind us together as one?


This past weekend I went on a trip with 18 women (and three babies) from my church. It was a perfect example of the friendships God give us. There were 19 women with all different personalities and yet bound together in friendship and Christ's love. Throughout the weekend we were able to do things together and to do things separately. We all took time to laugh, and share, and be together. Every night you could see groups of sisters sitting around sharing their hearts and their lives. It was a time of seeing God's blessings and feeling the love and support that true friendship brings.

God continues to bless me and grow me by the wonderful people he adds to my life. I love all of you and I am so thankful to have you. I am reminded of a reference I heard in a Beth Moore bible study. She was talking about the four men that carried their friend on a stretcher (a mat) and lowered him down to Jesus....because the man could not walk on his own. She called these men "Stretcher Bearers" and that was what she called her friends. That stuck with me and that is the way I see my friends. You are my stretcher bearers...you lift me up when I can not walk on my own....and you take me to Jesus.

Tammy


Papa Bears Cabin....our home sweet home


Our view...isn't that beautiful?


Shopping in Gatlinburg


Ella and Ranger....our power couple


Dinner at Bubba Gump's....yummy!


Mexican Dinner with our peeps


I had to eat with the giant fork....


Chillin' on the deck


Ella....isn't she beautiful?


Talking with the girls....


Cyndi's peddie...did I spell that right?


19 Women + 3 babies. The whole gang


Heading home :-(

12 comments:

Tim & Angela Fleming said...

Tammy, you hit the nail on the head! I think it is wonderful how God brought so many different personalities together and made a beautiful bond that cannot be broken. No matter how different we are we have the most important thing in common, JESUS!!!

I love you and loved getting to spend time with you and the rest of the girls.
Angela

jonesfamily said...

I have been waiting on your post for days....LOL....What a cool analogy of friendship (I too had only heard it in regard to marriage).

What a blessed group of women we are. What we have at EMC is rare find!!

Maddie said...

Whew, I'm with Jennifer, I have been waiting for this all week long! It was definitely worth the wait. You have the gift of words Tammy Howard!!! You always have a way of saying something that makes me stop and think. I am so thankful for this "strand" of women!

Nancy Suits said...

Ditto to all the above. I mean what else can be said. We have an awesome GOD and he loves each and everyone of us even though we are all different. Tammy, you did a wonderful job on your blog. Tammy Hi said it perfectly with "the wait was worth it."
Nancy

Brad and Shana said...

Yep, the wait was worth it. If a 3 stranded cord is not easily broken, then how much stronger is a strand of 19 or 20? Add Christ to that strand and it is impenetrable!! What confidence and victory we can live in.

Shana

Klingbeil Family said...

Wow - I'm speechless! What an awesome post. You have a way with the written word there sister.
The love and acceptance that is so prevalent in our group of friends is an amazing thing. Something to be cherished. I've heard about friends we have for a season, a lifetime, or a short time - but to put it in these terms - that we have all these friends who are so different and yet we all have common bonds - the most important being our love for Jesus.
I love you and value the time spent together.
Marilyn

Nana Elaine said...

Ok, I agree with your mother it is time to write a book. I would love to have a daily devotion book written by you. How about it??
You could even include some pictures of Ella since you capture her so beautifully.
Love the post.
Love you
Elaine

Cyndi Lou said...

Ditto on what everyone said.... I, too, have been waiting on your post all week! It was a beautiful one and it made me cry--- I know, Shana, that is not hard to do, but I cried anyway!

What a wonderful analogy of the awesome friendship we all share and the diverse personalities we all have! We are so blessed and I am so grateful for God bringing this group together-- what a strand and He is right in the middle. I cherish each of you very much!! Tammy, you are precious to me and I love you!

Love,

Cyndi

Jenny said...

Wow, I'm with them...you definitely do have a give of words! This weekend was fabulous and I'm thankful for all you ladies. I consider myself so blessed to know you (& the other gals).

MBJones said...

Tammy,
I am always humbled by your wisdom and sweet, generous spirit. Thanks for being you and sharing your heart with us.

Love,
MB

Tamara Chastain said...

That was beautiful. Very well put. Thanks for sharing your heart. I love you girl.

The Wild World of Richmond said...

Tammy,
I would gladly be a stretcher bearer for you or any other of the ladies that went with us. It was a great weekend and I'm soooo wanting to see everyone tomorrow at church. I just wanna see how their week went, talk to Angela about her house, see what the husbands thought of the tatoo's, etc. I truly have missed all of the ladies(and babies this week).
Terri