Always Close Beside

A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need.

STEPHANIE WAS AT THE HEIGHT of awkwardness—twelve and shy, with a mouth full of braces—when she met Maggie. The preteen was desperately in need of a friend, and the little ball of black, white, and gray fur was ready to be one.

At nine weeks old, Maggie was barely big enough to climb up stairs, but the border collie–cattle dog mix puppy had a loving heart that would grow even bigger as she did.

Maggie sat beside Stephanie at breakfast every morning, and she greeted her best friend with vigorous tail wagging after school. When Stephanie was frustrated to tears with her math homework, Maggie would put her head on her young friend’s lap. When the girls at school had a party and Stephanie wasn’t invited, Maggie didn’t mind Stephanie’s tight hugs. When Stephanie wasn’t asked to prom, Maggie offered the best antidote: her quiet presence. She was constant, steady, and eager to offer unconditional love, even when the rest of Stephanie’s world felt unpredictable.

Their bond increased over the years. Finally, Stephanie graduated from high school and was accepted at an out-of-state college. The days of summer quickly slipped by, and soon it was time to begin packing for school. Stephanie not only wrestled with what to bring, but with deeper questions.

“Will I have any friends? Will I do well in my classes? Will my faith survive in this new environment? Oh, Maggie, will you forget about me?”

There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

When Maggie heard her name, she got up from where she was lying and sat attentively next to her friend.

Stephanie’s eyes blurred with tears as she took folded clothes off the bed and arranged them in the suitcase, unsure what she would need for this new phase in her life. Maggie watched her pack, her ears slung low and her tail uncharacteristically still. She knew what suitcases meant: goodbye.

Stephanie kept packing, but strangely, she seemed to make hardly any progress. As many items as she put in the suitcase, it appeared as empty as ever. She took a break to eat a snack and talk to her mom. When she returned, there was no denying it: Nearly everything was gone from her suitcase.

Staring at her luggage, Stephanie noticed something out of the corner of her eye—a familiar head nosing inside one of her other bags. Sure enough, Maggie was taking the items out, one by one. The look in her big brown eyes seemed to say, If you don’t pack your bags, you don’t have to leave, right?

“Come here, sweet Maggie.” Stephanie buried her head in Maggie’s ruff and let the tears fall unchecked. This was precisely what she needed in that moment: a reminder that her dog loved her, her family loved her, and God loved her.

As she looked into her dog’s smiling face, a friend with an endless capacity for loyalty and unconditional love, Stephanie believed Maggie was giving her a tiny glimpse into what the friendship of God looked like.

PAWS & PONDER . . .

What does the phrase “friendship of God” mean to you? Do you consider God your friend? Who in your life points you to the kindness, loyalty, and love of God? Who can you encourage in that same way today?

Paws & Pray

Lord, thank you for the gift of friendship—both with other humans and with animals. You are the perfect example of friendship and love. Help me to follow your example and love others well today and always. And help me be a friend who points others to you.