The Day I Was Forgotten by My Friends

February 8, 2014 by

Old Clock FaceI was 18 years old.

And my friends forgot me.

Here’s how it happened.

We were going to a Day on the Green concert at the Oakland Coliseum. (This is before I was a Christian.)

And my friends were supposed to pick me up at 7 PM the night before so we could stand in line overnight. (It would give us the chance to be near the stage during the concert.)

And so there I was sitting in my parents’ living room at 7 PM excitedly waiting to be picked up by my friends.

Then came 7:15.

Then came 7:30.

Then came 7:45.

And I was still waiting.

Then it was 8 o’clock. (“I thought they said seven? Maybe I was wrong.”) I still waited.

Then came 8:30. 9 PM. 9:30. (This was before cell phones.) 10 o’clock. (“Where are they? They wouldn’t forget me, would they? Could they?”)

The clock continued ticking. 10:30. 11. Of course, your mind starts playing tricks on you like somehow even your friends would purposely do something like that.

11:30. Midnight. I remember my dad checking on me, but I don’t remember what he said.

12:30 AM.

Still no friends.

No call.

Nothing.

(Yes, I was very distressed.)

And you might think I was stupid waiting like that for these guys. But that’s just me. Always loyal. Always true.

I think I remember going to bed or starting to at this point.

12:40 AM. I thought I heard a car. Then headlights and honking.

Could it be?

It was my friends!

And they would fall over backwards with apologies. One of them (the driver) got off work later than thought and they just totally forgot they were supposed to pick me up. I believed it. After all, they were my friends.

And I guess I could talk about how sometimes our friends fail us. (Has it ever happened to you?)

But moreso I want to talk about being forgotten.

And let me just cut to the chase.

You (who are reading this) may be feeling right now like God Himself has forgotten you. (Are you feeling that way? Do you know somebody who is?)

The truth is God hasn’t forgotten you. He hasn’t! (Take it from one who knows what it feels like to be forgotten.)

Receive the word of the Lord.

“‘Can a woman forget her nursing child and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.'” (Isaiah 49:15-16a)

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About Pastor Mike

Pastor Mike is making the most of web technologies to encourage disciples. A self-proclaimed “twitterholic,” one twitter follower describes him as the “jogging, blogging, tweeting Pastor.” Visits to Pastor Mike’s blog (A Heart For God) number in the hundreds of thousands. His video blogs have been viewed over a half a million times.