Sprinkling the Sweet Seeds of Friendship

It was the summer of 1993 and it was the first time that I ever attended Cedar River Baptist Camp in Letts, IA. I was eight years old and would be turning nine later that summer. I was going to be at camp for 5 days, Monday thru Friday. Though, I might have stayed at a friend’s house over night, I had never been away from my parents for a whole week.

I’ll never forget that summer. I was the only one from my church that went to camp that week. Everyone else was too young and would be going to primary camp. Also, no one went to camp with me as a counselor. I was on my own.

On Monday morning my pastor and his wife took me to the camp and dropped me off. They got me registered, introduced me to some people they knew from another church, said their good-byes and then left. I was scared to death.

A Frightening Adventure

During that week of camp, there was a girl on staff named Stephanie. Stephanie’s whole family worked at the camp during the summer months and then during the fall, winter and spring they travelled around to different churches to sing as a family. Stephanie befriended me that week. She worked in the snack shop and always had a kind word and a smile for me.

In the middle of that week there was a tornado that ended up coming very near to the camp. The staff moved all of the girls into the basement where the snack shop area was located. Again, I was so scared. I didn’t like storms and this was a big one. It was a tornado!

Stephanie was working in the canteen area and she could tell that I was scared. She brought me back behind the counter with her and spent some time talking to me. She could also tell that I was very tired and that was making it worse. She went and got her pillow and her blanket and had me lay down on the floor where she talked to me until I fell asleep. When I woke up the storm was over. They said that the tornado had touched down in a few areas several miles away from the camp.

The Sweet Fruition of a Godly Friendship

By the time Friday had arrived, I was extremely homesick and was ready to leave after breakfast. My pastor came and we left for home after the final morning chapel service. Before I left the camp, I told Stephanie good bye. When I did, she gave me a picture of her and on the back she had written me a note. I gave her my address and she promised that she would write to me.

“A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.” ~Proverbs 18:24

This simple childhood memory that I cherish so much has come to mean the world to me. You see, that summer, God started to teach me about the meaning of friendship. If you want to be friends with someone, I learned, you must first be friendly to them.

Stephanie and I have kept in touch over the years and are now really good friends! Now she is married and has two boys that are three and four years old. They call me Aunt Diane. Well, actually they call me “Aunt Dan.” When the youngest one was learning to talk that’s what he would call me and it has stuck with both of them.

Our relationship over the past fifteen years was sparked by her thoughtful act of kindness. And I am so thankful for her and what she has come to mean to me. Now let me ask you a simple question. Are you sprinkling the seeds of kindness so that someday you can enjoy the sweet fruition of godly friendships?


For His Cause,

Diane Cardot

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Author Info: Diane Cardot a godly army wife. She is a wonderful, supportive, and loving person and I am privileged each day to be able to call her my wife.