At all Times

This afternoon on our way up to the hospital, I got a message from one of our former Youth Group students, Anthony.  Right away, it made me smile, because Anthony is another one of those amazing kinds of people that you meet in life that make your life just that much better for having known them.  This kid (okay, so I know he’s not a kid anymore, but I think in some ways our youth group students will always be “kids” in my mind) has a heart of gold and Jeremy and I always loved having him around.

Anyhow, back to Anthony.  He was responding to my morning post where I asked people to help me share love and prayers for Michael by taking a picture specifically for him (you can totally check it out here).  In addition to sending a cool picture for Michael to me, he just had such kind words and encouragement which I always appreciate.  I told him when I saw Michael, I was going to tell him specifically that Anthony was praying for him.

And this is just what I did.  For the record, Michael looked good today.  I personally always think that each day, he looks a little better and better.  He is officially off his vent and just has a smaller machine that gives him just a bit of oxygen.  He was moving his hands and arms just a bit more today and Sally showed us how he was starting to move his legs and feet a little bit more too.  All exciting things by the way.

Anyhow, I leaned over and told Michael how I had talked to Anthony and how he had wanted me to tell Michael hello and that he was praying for him every day.  And much to my delight, Michael responded with a very strong hand squeeze and even moved his arm as well.  I think that having so many people love and support you when you are going through a tough time, truly makes a difference.

And I think that for me, it just reminded me of how important and how powerful friendship is.  As I’ve shared before, Michael was a friend to everyone.

He always had this way of making people feel important.  It was subtle, but it was there and I think that Michael’s friends all felt it.

Anthony and Michael were always great friends all throughout high school.

And even through they naturally had moved on in life since they both graduated high school last year, it’s quite evident that their friendship is still strong and that Anthony and so many others are committed to being strong for Michael as he is healing from his accident.

Friendship is a powerful thing.  And having great friends is an incredible blessing in this life.  Tonight, I’m thankful for Michael’s many, many friends who are sending their love and prayers to him during this difficult time.  Proverbs 17:17 reminds us that true and real friends show their love at all times, both in the good times and in the hard times.

A number of Michael’s friends have sent me pictures with notes of support and encouragement and I know this will be something so great for Michael to have as he continues to heal and get better.  I will be collecting these pictures and putting them together for Michael, so if you haven’t already, please feel free to continue to send them to me.  It’s as simple as writing a message of encouragement and then taking a picture of it.  Again, this post lays out all of the info and I think it would be a great way to be a great friend to Michael during this time.