Soul Friends
When David had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was bound to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. – 1 Samuel 18:1 (NRSV)
Have you ever known the minute you saw someone that they would be your new best friend?
Sometimes those friendships are for a season. I think of the moms I connected with on the first day of Montessori preschool, as we waited in an adjoining space to be sure our very little girls made a good adjustment before we left. Two became important companions for the next few years. We clicked, and thankfully so did our kids, leading to long conversations over coffee by the McDonald’s play space. Phrases they used are still part of my conversational vocabulary two decades later.
Sometimes those friendships are for a lifetime. The first connection leads to deeper knowing and lasting care and ongoing active connection. These are the people who tell you the truth when you need to hear it, or know you need them without being told. In this pandemic time, I have missed them intensely, even the ones I saw in person only once every year or so. Their texts bring a smile, and theirs are the only optional Zoom calls I enter willingly. I long for the time when we can be in the same place and have it be deep and casual at the same time.
I believe the Spirit is in those connections, making the air crackle like a sky full of heat lightning when our eyes meet or we hear each other’s voices for the first time. That gift of connection is holy.
Prayer
Thank you, God, for giving us the soul friends whose lives enrich ours. May we give as much as we receive from them. Amen.
About the AuthorMartha Spong is a UCC pastor, a clergy coach, and editor of The Words of Her Mouth: Psalms for the Struggle, new from The Pilgrim Press.