Three: Friendship

“It’s been a while since we talked,” she began… “Our conversations tend to be so one-sided and I’ve realized I just fail when it comes to listening. I want to remember what it was like to hear you… to hear your voice. I want to remember what it was like to be best friends. Did I really have that kind of friendship with you? Were you really my best friend? Why does that seem like such a distant memory? Remind me, because I seem to forget what’s most important.”

He reached out to touch her hand… she held it for a second before pulling away.

“Stop it. I don’t deserve you. I don’t deserve anything like you. You’re too good for me, too good to me and I’ll never be good enough… this isn’t right. I fail you, I lie to you, I avoid you, I forget you… and you love me? It doesn’t make sense. Won’t you ever just give up on me? Everyone else does…”

He let her thoughts wander… knowing she’d continue,“But you aren’t like everyone else, are you?”

The question echoed in the room and into the depths of her lonely heart. No. He wasn’t like everyone else.

“Your love is too good to be true. Too eternal to be real. Too unconditional to be possible… yet your love is here. Your love is impossible. But its here. I had forgotten how cold it was without you—without your presence. I forgot that my heart needed you to beat. Instead, I turned away and walked away… I faded away. A stupid, small step didn’t seem like a problem… but now I’m miles down this path, looking back and wondering how I ever ended up here…”

He remained silent, but this time began writing in the sand. Without noticing, she kept allowed her soul to verbalize. At first it came as a whisper…“We used to laugh, didn’t we? We used to smile and joke and play and have fun… and I really did love you, didn’t I?” She drew a deep breath in and kept it in. Her eyes widened in amazement, and suddenly she kicked the ground.

“WHY IS THIS SO HARD FOR ME TO REMEMBER?”

A tear slipped down her cheek, and she watched it hit the sand. Jesus stood up and watched her read the words.

I’m still waiting for you to come home…

In a quiet whisper she breathed, “I miss you.”