The Friends and Family Plan

It started many years ago when my kids were in elementary school. We would pack up and go to the far-off country of Texas, the native land. The land where most all of our family live. We would go and stay the whole month of July. If you’ve never been to Texas in July, one word sums it up —hot.

The kids are grown and this year I traveled alone. And again, it was H-O-T! Capital letters in bold print do not do it justice. At 7:00 pm it was a balmy 100+ degrees. (We have called eastern Pennsylvania home for 22 years now, and have grown accustomed to a certain temperature. That temperature is well below the 100 degrees mark on the thermometer.) I go back to visit family and friends. Some years I go back more often than others. This has been a year of more oftens.

And I got to thinking about Abraham and Lot.

I’m an Old Testament gal. I love its history and genealogy. To me, it’s like a dot to dot puzzle and I love connecting the dots. This hot July in Texas, I found myself connecting dots.

My mother in law passed away last September, and upon getting her house ready to sell we found old photos. Photos none of her boys had ever seen and which I couldn’t take my eyes off. Some dated back to the pre-1900’s, a tintype photo. Swoon, I fell in love! I had to know who they were and what their story was, and a puzzle began to unfold. I fell into the genealogy rabbit hole. I fell hard! Have I mentioned I love history?

Right about now you’re asking yourself what in the world does this have to do with Abraham and Lot? How does one connect to another?

Abraham and Lot picked up everything they had and went to where God told them to go; kind of like the hubby and I. When we moved to Pennsylvania, we just had each other, though I can’t say that God told us to go as much as we just went. Sometimes I think that move caused us to be more than just husband and wife, but friends, as well. The people in those old photos, some of them picked up and went, too. They left a place they called home in search of a better land and better farming. They left all they knew behind, but some of them brought friends, too. I imagine they became really close friends, more like family.

I can’t say that Abraham and Lot were close friends because they departed ways. It could have been more out of necessity, but Lot took the better land. Who knows, maybe they were good friends, as well?

Even after they departed ways, Abraham didn’t forget about Lot. Three men came to visit Abraham. They clued him in that they were going to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah, that’s where Lot and his family lived. (By the way, one of the men was The Lord.) Abraham interceded for Lot. Abraham kept on until the Lord said He would spare Lot and his family. (Genesis 12-19)

Abraham may not have gone back for Lot physically, but he went back!

Things don’t end well for Lot and his family. Sodom and Gomorrah got really H-O-T, in more ways than one. His wife turns into a pillar of salt. He narrowly escapes with his two daughters and they end up living in a cave, but it wasn’t because Abraham didn’t try. I think Abraham loved Lot and his family.

Here’s the thing. I don’t have to go back to Texas. Ever. But God calls me back. He calls me back for family. He calls me back for friends. He calls me back to connect the dots. He calls me back to heat. He calls me back to intercede… and more importantly, He calls me back to love!

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit —fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. ~John 15:13-17

In my going back, I hope God uses me to show I care and that God’s love is shown through me. It would be so much easier to just live in my own little bubble, my neck of the woods, and not intercede for others. God has other ideas, He reminds me that He has a friends and family plan.

Are you a part of God’s friends and family plan? Do you know who your family and friends are? Who comes back for you? Who do you go back for? Let them know!

• Author
• Recent Posts

Laura Rodgers

An upcycle transformation from Texas farm girl to transplanted Pennsylvanian with more spunk than Southern Charm. She enjoys annoying and entertaining her husband, son and daughter, with her various antics, wit and enthusiasm over a good bargain.

Latest posts by Laura Rodgers (see all)

• The Missing Point in Disappointment - September 25, 2019
• You’re Invited - June 19, 2019
• Gloom, Despair & Agony on Me - April 10, 2019