Today's daily devotion

TLC PleaSe

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another…—HEBREWS 10:24-25 (NIV)

It was another meeting of the five of us that afternoon in the coffee shop, women who’d been close friends for over 35 years. One friend was crying on the shoulder of another. We’d all received the “TLC PleaSe” in the subject line of our emails. This was a code we’d created when any one of us really needed encouragement and support. Each capital letter represented the first letter of each of our last names.

All of us are caregivers in one form or another. All of us need each other. We’ve watched our children grow up, play sports together and head off to college. Some kids have married and we’ve celebrated children-in-laws being added to our families. We’ve also grieved losses and bad decisions.

And after all these years, we still meet to laugh and cry and support each other through thick and through thin. Although one friend has moved away, whenever the rest of us get together, we Skype her in.

We loved and comforted our sad friend that night. At the end of the evening we hugged and parted, but only until our next gathering.