{"id":25976,"date":"2020-09-12T20:39:28","date_gmt":"2020-09-13T01:39:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?page_id=25976"},"modified":"2024-01-13T17:09:35","modified_gmt":"2024-01-13T23:09:35","slug":"searching-for-my-friend","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/bible-studies\/searching-for-my-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Searching for My Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Searching for My Friend<\/h1>\nby Jeffrey W. Hamilton\n

\"\"Once again I lost a dear young friend to the seductive snare of drugs. It grieves me to the depth of my heart to see a life full of potential and capable of great joy being twisted toward ruin, sadness, and loneliness.<\/p>\n

I can’t stand remaining silent. To this last young man, I had committed to be there for him and to fight to help him reach our Father at the end of our lives. The choices he makes are his own, but I can make choices too.<\/p>\n

What you will find on these pages are my attempts to stay connected with him, to find the lost, bright spirit I remember so well. I’m sharing them with you both to help me organize my thoughts, perhaps help others help reach the lost, and if possible to find more than just my friend.<\/p>\n

My only contact at the moment is through voice mail and regular mail. He won’t answer the phone when he knows I’m calling. So each message will be a single point. I can’t be sure he’ll listen to the message or read the note, but hope and confidence in God are all I have left. Please pray for the effort and if you have suggestions or similar needs, please let me know.<\/p>\n

Update 8\/6\/2010<\/strong>: In case you are wondering why these notes have slowed down, several things have changed. My friend has stopped using marijuana since mid-June. He’s repented of his sins near the beginning of July and has been talking to members of his congregation one-on-one. The last word I had was that there was a strong hope that he would be returning to the church soon. Early in July, he moved to a better location, but I don’t have the address. He also dropped his phone service, so I can’t call. How much these notes helped, I do not know; he still won’t talk to me face-to-face, though he once told me in a brief call that he was reading the letters. I do know that a lot <\/b>of people are working in concert to bring him back and that joint effort seems to have worked.<\/p>\n

As a side-effect of these articles, I’ve been contacted by several people who are trying to end an addiction. It is a pleasure to put the hard lessons I’ve learned into use to help others. I hope to continue to add articles to this list that I deem particularly useful in talking to someone addicted. I hope they may help in your own struggles to reach your friends.<\/p>\n

Update 9\/20\/2010:<\/strong> Through the concerted efforts of my friend’s family, members of his congregation, and several friends around the country, he has left drugs behind and has returned to serving the Lord with his brethren. He still has a ways to go, as he will readily admit, but he is back on the right path. We are back in contact and I have seen him several times. I thank every one of you for your prayers on his behalf. Most importantly I thank the Lord for showing him such compassion.<\/p>\n

The Letters<\/h2>\n