The Gift of Distance

“Father, they are your gift to me.” – John 17:24

They were blessings I thoroughly enjoyed – a gym and a yoga studio right outside our village. I could leave my house 10 minutes before the classes start. I could even walk there and back again if I wasn’t in a rush.

When the gym closed for renovation and my yoga teacher opened his own studio in the next town (yes, the next town, not the next village or the next barangay but the next TOWN!), I now had to make an hour-long trip just to practice yoga.

I wondered why the Lord would do such a thing – take away the convenience of workout places just a skip and a hop away from my house. Did he want my love handles to balloon from lack of exercise so I can just roll like a ball instead of walk? I don’t think so. I know God’s plan is always for our good, so a trim and healthy “me” would be His grand design.

I wondered why He would let me take the long trip just to exercise when He very well knew my driver’s license has a restriction: I can only drive within a 10 kilometer radius. My license beeps like an ankle monitor when I go past my set boundaries. (Kidding – I just hate driving to far places!)

Then I realized that needing a ride to get to the yoga studio is a blessing. I have gotten to know my yoga classmates better. God gave me the gift of new friends.

Before, I would just say hi and hello and then I’m off. I knew their names and not much more. The long ride to and from the yoga studio gave me the chance to connect, to take a peek into their lives and to form bonds of friendship.

There is a purpose in everything God allows to happen. There is a gift hidden beneath every trial. 

Real Friends, Real Heroes

What is friendship? Is it just the laughter and a lot of time spent together? Is it just shared experiences and bonding moments?

That’s just froth that merrily bubbles over the deeper waters of true friendship.

How can one tell who your real friends are? Here’s something I wrote about my favorite people in the world.

Real Friends…

…Burn the phone wires until their ears have gone flat

from your stories, your gripes and your non-stop chat.

…Look at you clearly and are honest enough

to tell you your fashion sense took the day off.

…Bop you and scold you and make sure that you don’t

give in to that dim-witted thing that you want.

…Defend you from critics when brickbats abound.

…Say good things about you when you’re not around.

…Feel no envy when it’s your moment to shine;

happy not hurt just to cheer from the sideline.

If a hero is one who dies to oneself,

then real friends are heroes – ‘tis truth in itself.

Just as St. Paul had a faithful friend in Luke, I am blessed with real friends. I thank God today for that blessing and priceless treasure.

“Luke is the only one with me.” – 2 Timothy 4:11

From Companion, October 18, 2011: “To have a faithful friend like Luke is a wonderful gift from God and an inestimable treasure.”