I am a Mentor for MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). MOPS is an organization that was created to support mothers with babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. As any mom knows—those are tough years! The international organization has groups that meet all over the US as well as in other countries. I am involved with a group near my home in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

The mom who leads our group has a four-year-old son who came down with a rare virus in October. The virus attacked his spine and he spent many weeks on a ventilator in ICU. He is now on a slow journey to recovery which could take years.

I recently went to visit him in the hospital. Another MOPS mom was also there with her four-year-old son. The boys are friends from the MOPS childcare program. I was impressed by Kaden, the young boy who is now getting around in a wheelchair. His smile and upbeat attitude was contagious. But I was also impressed with his buddy who came to see him. Some children would be uncomfortable in a hospital, seeing another child in a wheelchair with a tracheostomy. But not this little guy. He went right up to Kaden and gave him a toy they could play with together. Then he pushed Kaden’s wheelchair down the hospital hallway for a speedy ride. And when his mom and I took Kaden for a walk outside, he walked beside Kaden, holding his hand.

As I followed behind the boys, I was struck by this simple, yet powerful act of friendship. Kaden’s buddy didn’t give him words of advice. He didn’t tell him, “Things will get better.” He just walked beside him, holding his hand.

Isn’t that what we all need? When things are hard, we don’t always needs words of advice. We just need friends who will walk beside us and hold our hand. That’s the kind of friend Jesus is. That’s the kind of friend I want to be.

Crystal