Joy in Friendship

This is my friend Dr. Michelle Bengtson. We met for the first time in July, 2015 in Oklahoma we are at Fort Cobb Lake in this picture. On this day nothing could rob us of our joy and we experienced joy in friendship. We were in a writing group and in June she had asked for prayer, I volunteered to be her prayer partner. She trusted me to be much more, her prayer administrator. God says in Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” She came to my dad’s house to meet me. I was at my dad’s for his 90th birthday party.

She left my dad’s house and when I flew home I had a long layover and she came to the airport in Dallas, we had lunch. Thinking I would not see her again until I returned to Oklahoma little did I know God was orchestrating a trip for us. In October of 2015, Dr. Michelle attended a conference at Saddleback Church, in Lake Forrest, CA and God blessed me with not only the time off but my cousin gifted tickets for the conference. The conference on Mental Health interested me and she is a board certified clinical neuropsychologist with over 25 years of experience in the mental health field.  Attending the conference and and we spent some quality time together praying for her book Hope Prevails:Insights From A Doctors Journey Through Depression.  

So our journey began, we prayed with a team of women that are amazing and faithful for every aspect of this book from the cover to the cuts.  Dr. Michelle Bengtson has seen the devastation that depression brings. So for her to walk through the valley of depression this gives so much credibility to this book for me. She knows what someone is going through, they are not alone.  I found golden nuggets in every chapter. This book written to the depressed person to give hope, a hope that sustains, and a hope that prevails.

Certainly, a life long friendship formed because we serve a God who planned for a girl in California to meet a girl from Texas at her Dad’s house in Oklahoma. Did I tell you the day we visited Fort Cobb Lake we stopped at Nowhere, Oklahoma? Since the time in Oklahoma in 2015, God gave us a few more chance encounters.

Beloved, there is joy in friendship. God answers prayers. I can give you example after example but one that stands out is the cover of the book. Michelle and I were at the conference and the cover chosen is not the current one, we went to the beach and we cried out to God and we both feel a miracle occurred about the cover. Today in the mail, I received my book, can I share with you, that tears rolled down my face.

Do you have a special friend? Describe what qualities are needed to be a good friend? Are you struggling with depression?

As always if you can’t afford the book and would like one please contact me and I will be happy to give you a copy of the book. I am Diana Manley Rockwell or blessingrockwell@gmail.com.

Dr. Michelle Bengtson said, “Depression doesn’t define our worth, and God delights in us as his masterpiece.”