Bible Reading: Matthew 7:12; Romans 13:8-10

Elodie's heart ached as she got ready for school. "No one ever talks to me at school," she told her parents at breakfast. "I hate it here! We've lived here six weeks, and I still don't have one friend--not one!"

"Elodie, when I was a kid I learned a little poem that I think you need to apply to your life," Mom said. "It says, 'I went looking for a friend, but not one could be found. I went out to be a friend, and friends were all around.'"

Elodie wiped her hands on a napkin. "What does that mean?"

"It means you shouldn't think so much about finding a friend and instead focus on being a friend," Mom explained. "Start looking for someone who needs a friend instead of waiting for them to come to you."

Dad nodded. "In the Bible, Jesus says to do to others what we would want them to do to us. I know it can be scary to reach out to people you don't know when you're the new one at school, but you can start by being a friend like Jesus to the kids in your class. He reached out to us in love before we were His friends, and we can do the same to others. Trust Him to help you do that, and we'll pray that He will bring the right friends into your life."

As Elodie got out of the car at school, Dad gave her an encouraging smile. "Be friendly today," he said. "I'll be praying for you on my way to work."

As Dad drove away, Elodie noticed a girl going up the walk. That looks like the girl who sits across from me in math, she thought. What's her name? Oh yeah--Nadia. She doesn't seem to do much with the other kids. Maybe she doesn't have any friends either. Maybe…

"Nadia!" called Elodie. "Wait up. Can I walk with you?"

Nadia looked up. "Sure," she said, surprised. "You're new here, aren't you? I am too. I've been here seven weeks, and you're the first person who's really talked to me."

A warm feeling filled Elodie, and it drove out the cold, lonely ache. Mom and Dad were right, she thought. God, please help me be a friend like Jesus to Nadia.

–Barbara J. Westberg