感谢主 for non-biological sisters

Tonight, in the midst of painful longing for my dear brothers and sisters far across the seas, in the midst of loneliness in a city I somehow never feel I belong to, in the midst of discontent in the dislocation that makes sinking into communities so difficult, I received an email full of prayer requests from a dear, dear friend. She is hurting tonight, as I am hurting. She needs God's love and grace, as I do. She is seeking to give all these concerns over to Jesus, as I am. What great timing our loving Father has: that, hanging up the phone in loneliness and grief, I open my computer and seek distraction, finding instead a heart similarly breaking. And how counter-intuitive these relationships we yearn for, that a sister's pain and pleas for help from our Father would be such a blessing. Oh, Father. Loving Dad. How we need You.