NorthStar Community Daily Devotional

May 18 - Find a buddy

Scripture focus: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (NIV)

Ultimately, we don't heal, transform, or create ourselves. We posture ourselves in ways that allow God to heal, transform, and create us.

Sue Monk Kidd

Our youngest child is a high school senior, and I'm coming to grips with the reality that this is a year of "lasts" for me. I have chaperoned my last field trip. I have attended my last choral competition. I have cheered at my last lacrosse game. I will soon pack the last school lunch. I know, it's sad.

Whether school or church sponsored, field trips always remind me of Ecclesiastes 4. Inevitably, the kids are told to find a buddy and stick with them. This seems to be an age-old tradition of field trips. I assume it's as old as the bible. The assumption is that two are better than one, and if one falls down, his friend can help him up. Obviously the writer of Ecclesiastes did not hang out with the same crowd I do. My experience has been that some buddies get together, push each other down, and then pile on for a wild ride. I've learned the hard way that who we buddy with is crucial. Some buddies help keep us safe, others embrace and encourage walks on the wild side. Perhaps that's why (in the spirit of honest confession) I must admit that I am not sad about the end of my chaperoning career. What a nightmare! I once lost a kid in a museum in D.C. during a school trip. I have been the responsible adult on trips where our charges behaved very irresponsibly – despite my best efforts.

I chaperoned a ski trip where some of the girls let a fawn into their hotel room!

Trust me, I am willing to hang up my chaperoning cleats.

In spite of my experience with bad buddies, I still believe in the concept of the buddy system. More on why I believe that posturing ourselves in ways that allow God to heal, transform and create involves picking a buddy in tomorrow's devotional.

Recommended reading: Deuteronomy 33-35

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