I had many difficult times when I lived in Los Angeles, but none of them were unbearable–my friends saw to that. I have always been amazed at how rich in relationships I have been over the years. Now there have been some duds over the years as well, but, overall, I have been extremely fortunate. Just being able to blog my thoughts here (with the hope that someone will find something helpful in them) is a result of the relationships I’ve been cultivating with some amazing people out here in Phoenix. Anyway, back to Los Angeles.

My friend Eric is the guy out of focus to the left of the picture. Several years back, I got dumped by someone who my friends had counseled me to dump months earlier (listen to your friends!). I called Eric to tell him the bad good news or good bad news and this is what he said: “That sucks, man…but you know what?! We’re gonna go out to the clubs and we’re gonna meet some girls and get drunk, and it’s gonna be awesome!”

Knowing that Eric and I both loved Jesus and that none of what he said was actually going to happen, I burst into laughter. Then Eric laughed with me. And suddenly, in the midst of such dark emotions, laughter brought a wave of truth–the truth that God loved me and demonstrated that love through people who had chosen to love me as well. Dr. Eric administered the medicine of laughter at the right time, unaware of its powerful truth-bearing side effects.

So I’ve learned that when I feel like I’m alone and that God’s forsaken me, all I need to do is call for backup. And backup is always there to remind me that I’m not alone and that God will never forsake me.

-Matt Sherman