Not Quickly Broken

My bible study is my friends. I’ve been looking for a structured book or program to teach me the word, and while I was looking, He put it right in front of my face! At night when I read my bible, I’m usually reading a scripture that a friend sent me or used as their Facebook status. How blessed am I to have the people that know and love me as my own personal bible study? I thank God for the true Christian women I have in my life, and that I keep meeting!!

Tonight I’m reading Ephesians 5. Verses 22-33 particularly. A family friend, Christy, referenced it in a recent conversation and I think it’s something that every couple should look back on regularly.

But that's not what I'm writing about right now. The scripture I’m using today for this blog is one very dear to me.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:
10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!
11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes starts out telling us that a lot of things we generally strive for in our lives are meaningless. In fact, the title to Eccl 1 in my bible is “Everything is Meaningless”. But then it gets to 4:9. Two are better than one. We’re helped up when we fall, we’re kept warm, we’re defended. It says “Pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!”. Friends, apparently, are not meaningless!!

I can’t remember if this was initially sent to me on FB or in a text, but I sure remember WHO sent it. It was a friend who has inspired me in ways I never imagined. I give my thanks for her in a great number of my prayers. Very few people come into our lives and stir us up from deep down inside, and I pity the girl that doesn’t have a best friend like I do!

My favorite part of this scripture is the last line: “A cord of three strands is not easily broken”. At first, it really confused me. I thought someone miscounted. 1 + 1 = 3 strands? Or maybe it was a typo. Are there typo’s in the Bible? Then it hit me. I may be wrong, and might be totally misunderstanding the meaning of the line, but this was my realization: My best friend and I have been each others support for a very long time. We’ve been through a lot of life together in our 20-some-odd years. And even though we’ve been separated by a whole continent at times, we’ve used each other to get through everything from relationship problems, toddler problems, to grieving.

But we also have God. He’s our third strand. Her and I would go to great lengths to take care of each other, but He uses us to grow us both in faith. He’s the one that makes us “not easily broken”. With Him, we’re truly are the Super Women we want to be!