The past few days have been rather emotional for me – with one of my very closest friends Megan moving away and then my favorite roommate Shalina moving out – I have been a little overwhelmed by change and somewhat self-conscious about the intense ways in which friendships changing affects me. I have always known that I love deeply and that I really give my heart to those that I care about. I am truly invested and change doesn’t happen for me without some pain. Today at lunch I decided to take some time to just escape. I walked out to the plaza with my lunch and the book I’m currently (and have been for quite some time) reading: Same Kind of Different as Me. Several times I had to stop reading and spend a few minutes talking to the Lord asking Him to hold my heart and remind me of His presence. As my lunch hour continued on, I was struck by this paragraph.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about what you asked me…bout being your friend…there’s something I heard ‘bout white folks that bothers me, and it has to do with fishin…I heard that when white folks go fishin they do something called ‘catch and release’…that really bothers me. I just can’t figure it out. ‘Cause when colored folks go fishin, we really proud of what we catch, and we take it and show it off to everybody that’ll look. Then we eat what we catch…in other words, we use it to sustain us. So it really bothers me that white folks would go to all that trouble to catch a fish, then when they done caught it, just throw it back in the water…So Mr. Ron it occurred to me: If you is fishin for a friend you just gon’ catch and release, then I ain’t got no desire to be your friend…but if you is lookin for a real friend, then I’ll be one. Forever.”
Oh how that describes me. I don’t know how to be a ‘catch and release friend’ I am the real friend…the friend that will be one forever. Through that simple paragraph God revealed my heart and the way He created me. I now understand myself in a whole new way. Praise the Lord for the way He never fails to meet our needs…
1 comment:
Don't release me!
Post a Comment