One of my co-workers in Japan became my best friend. 5.30-6.15 in the morning would find us speed walking over the hill and around a pond at a nearby park, covering every topic imaginable and praying for each other as well. She poured into my life day by day for years and years.
But there was also Julie. One day in Japan I had a run-in with a teammate and either their sin or my sin (honestly I’ve long forgotten the particulars) left me in tears, with only moments to regain my composure before teaching an English and Bible class. I didn’t really know Julie. She wasn’t a missionary, but she came once a week from a distance to teach art to the missionary kids, but we “just so happened” to be in the same room at that moment when I was trying to stop crying. And Julie spoke words of grace & truth to me. I’ve long forgotten what she said. But I’ll never forget how seen and heard I felt, and how Julie ministered to me, a virtual stranger.
And there was a distant co-worker whom we only saw once a month. One Sunday when he showed up, I was feeling down, and he said, “Judith, do you still believe God is good?” “Yes,” I replied. He asked his second question. “Do you still believe God is trustworthy?” “Absolutely,” I replied. And he said, “That’s enough. If that’s all you can hold onto, that’s enough.” I can’t tell you how many times I have thought of that conversation and been comforted by that foundational truth of who God is.
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