One of the desires I have in life, which has been a hunger for most of my life, is to have more friends. I already have quite a few but it never seems as if I have enough. I am always searching for a new friend.

Recently I examined my life to see why I couldn’t achieve this goal. I realized that I work many hours and when I am not working, I am diligently writing in my novel and my blog. So how am I to achieve more friends if I work all of the time?

I have done meet up groups and have been horrified at the lack of meaningful conversation in those groups. I have done Bible studies and have achieved some meaningful relationships but they disappeared as soon as the Bible study was over. I have gained some wonderful friendships through my work. I intend to keep some of those friends for the rest of my life. Yet I am still wanting more.

I have prayed about this for many years and I received a revelation recently. I work in the home health field and I go to people’s homes to administer health care to them. Usually when I walk into the home I walk in as a nurse and by the time I leave the admit, the Lord has established me as a friend to the family. One of my former coworkers said I had an amazing ability when it came to patients. She said I just connected with them on a deeper level than most nurses do.

So I have decided to let the Lord lead me into homes, through my work, where people are open to Him showing His love to them through me. If I do this I am bound to have increased my tally of friends. I mean seriously? Jesus had throngs of people following his every step when He was in ministry. If I show my patients the love of Jesus I will attract more people who desire His love.

Because of this revelation, I have gained a new friend. She is not my patient but she is a wife of one of my patients. I took to this family right away. I even adore their little dog.

As I shared my testimony with this woman she shared that she was a Christian also.

Although she is not my patient she ambulates using a wheelchair because she has a disease also.

It is amazing to me how much I have changed since knowing this lady. I look at everything differently now. I try to imagine how it would be to be in a wheelchair.

We went to the movie, The War Room, last night and the night before I walked all the way to the movie theater to make sure they could accommodate her handicapped needs. They could and we had a lovely evening watching a terrific movie.

The other day I was stopping at Starbucks for a cup of coffee and searching for a close parking space. The close ones were handicapped spaces. They were all open. I was only going to be in the store a few minutes. I didn’t think that it would be such a big deal if I parked in a handicapped parking space. Then I thought of my friend and I said, “I just can’t do that anymore,” and I proceeded to park in a space which was not labeled with a wheelchair.

She never makes a big deal about being in a wheelchair. She is always eager to go and do things with me. In fact she has more energy and joy than most of my friends who can walk. Plus she doesn’t work so she has more free time and I love that.

She is one of several friends that I have now who are disabled. You wouldn’t believe how cool these people are. I am thinking that wheelchairs and disabilities do much more to develop character in people than anything else. My disabled friends are some of the most down to earth and wonderful people I have ever met.

I would like to encourage my readers to reach out to people who are disabled, not because they are a charity case, but because they are cherished, not only by people like me but more importantly by God.