The Cost of Friendship

I'll never forget one morning at church several years ago. I was going through heavy chemo treatments at the time; lovingly called "The Big Guns." As we were leaving, my good friend, Jim, approached me with a big smile on his face, like he had something important to tell me. Without uttering a word, he simply took off his shoe and showed it to me. Inside his shoe was a pebble. I thought, "That must have been uncomfortable," and I assumed he was going to take the pebble out of his shoe. He didn't. Instead, he just smiled and said, "Dan, I want you to know that I put this pebble in my shoe to remind me to pray for you. Every time I feel the pebble, I pray for you." Upon hearing this, my eyes immediately started to well up. What an amazing and sacrificial gesture of care and concern. I learned a great lesson that morning.

True friends are willing to get uncomfortable for you.