An Unlikely Trio by Lisa Burkhardt Worley

I am continually reminded that we cannot do this life alone. God created us for community.

Before I could start work on a Doctor of Ministry at the King’s University, I had to complete some graduate course bridgework this year. I looked around and saw students far younger than me and thought, I’ve already done this. I don’t want to interfere with their experience. I will just go to class, complete the required courses and move on.

But what I realized is that God knew I could not do this without the support of friends.

Early on in the first semester, one of my professors asked if any of us students would be willing to pray for him. That’s what I love to do, so I raised my hand. Another classmate, Judith, said she would pray with me for him, so we got together to lift our professor up and that was the forging of a new friendship. She then suggested that another classmate, Alexis, join us so she did.

Technically, I am old enough to be these two women’s mother, but that has not been the type of relationship we three have experienced. We are purely friends with no age gap. We have texted each other words of encouragement. We have prayed for each other, and have studied together. When things got tough toward the end of this semester, they allowed me to vent, and I don’t know if I could have made it without them. Last night we worshipped together, and were in tears when we received prophetic words at a school event. And on Monday, we have a plan for celebrating the end of the semester, complete with lunch and a pedicure.

God knew what I needed, and on the surface, we really look like an unlikely trio, but it’s clear the LORD put the right personalities together.

Who has the LORD provided in your life to help you through whatever you are facing?

We might think we are self-sufficient, but our loving heavenly Father knows we need friends who we can encourage, and who encourage us on the journey. As I move onto the next phase of this school experience, I said to Judith and Alexis, “I hope we’ll be able to keep this friendship alive next year even though we don’t have classes together.” Something tells me we will.