Baptist Spirituality

My name is Rocket, and I am Joe’s friend. We have been on our sabbatical together for about five weeks, and our friendship has grown over that time.

We have done all sorts of things, from touring some spooky, old homes in Historic Richmondtown, to watching a few movies together.

We have had fun, but we have also spent a lot of time becoming a better friend of Jesus. We have gotten closer to Jesus by praying more and by writing out our prayers to Jesus, kind of like writing a letter to a friend.

We have also made new friends on this trip. I met another “palm pal” (like me!), and his name is Orbal Earthenbacher. He is a planet earth!

I think we have become fast friends because we have something in common: Orbal is a planet, and I like traveling among planets! Here are some things that we have done together…

We traveled to North Carolina to spend a week at St. Francis Prayer Center with Joe and Ms. Kristina. We had a good time there. We hiked and rested and did a LOT of praying, which I already told you about. And the food was really good. They feed you THREE times a day! I think Orbal put on a few pounds from all that delicious grub!

We watched a few movies together. Here we are with Garfield on a comfy recliner! Someone pass the popcorn!

One of the other things we are doing together is getting an old garden into shape. This garden has not been used for a while, so we have to pull weeds before we can put in new soil and seeds. It is SO HOT outside, that we can only pull weeds a few minutes at a time. It is a slow process.

Hey, gardens are just like friendships! They grow over a long period of time with care, attention, and commitment! If you don’t take care of them, then weeds come and choke out all of those good plants.

Jesus used gardens to talk about the friendship he has with those who love him:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing . . . This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:5, 8).

How do we remain in Jesus? Be a good friend to God and a good friend to others!

Who is your favorite friend?
Do you have a best friend?
What do you like most about your friends?
Comment below, and let me know.

My struggle with prayer is not so different from my struggle with friendships. Both prayer and friendship need purification. They need to become less dependent on fleeting emotions and more rooted in lasting commitments.”

Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journal (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1998).