My Daughter's Friend

My Daughter's Friend
By Mark Spencer

I have a daughter named Kristen.
She just turned twenty three.
She is graduating college,
With a bachelor's degree.

She intends to earn her masters;
Then on to practice law.
She makes me very happy,
In fact, I am in awe.

To think I might have lost my girl,
She could have met her end,
And shared the fate of Andrea,
Who was my daughter's friend.

They met when they were five years old,
And were friends from the start.
The two shared nearly everything,
And were rarely apart.

It was just on Sunday mornings
They'd separate at all.
While Kristen worshiped at our church,
Her friend was at the mall.

This matter was the only time
The two did not agree.
Though it would become a problem,
That no one could foresee.

Andrea's parents taught their girl,
From the time she was small,
That if she couldn't see the Lord,
He wasn't there at all.

But she'd started asking questions,
Each thought Kristen inspired.
And so the friendship had to end,
Something they both required.

There would be no more talk of God,
A rule that would not bend.
Depression dragged Andrea down;
Made her wish for the end.

Three times she tried to kill herself,
Each one to no avail.
Her parents sought to save her life,
But in the end, they failed.

Andrea had devised a plan;
This time, she'd find success.
For it was sleep that she desired;
An end to this distress.

It was on her sixteenth birthday,
When all had gone to bed,
She overdosed on sleeping pills,
By morning she was dead.

The news devastated Kristen,
Learning her friend was gone.
She knew their friendship was the thing
That kept her hanging on.

Andrea spoke of suicide
In Kristen, she'd confide.
Their talk of God made her unsure
Of her fate if she died.

She wanted just to go to sleep,
Like she was told she would.
But if there really was a God,
Could suicide be good?

So she started asking questions,
To help her in her search.
Even pleaded with her parents
To let her go to church.

But that only made them angry,
This nonsense had to end.
And that's when they told Andrea,
Kristen was not her friend.

So without my daughter's friendship,
To help her through it all,
And no answers to her questions,
She had not far to fall.

But she was not the only one,
The thought crossed Kristen's mind.
Just like so many teenagers,
When hope is hard to find.

For the girls there was one difference,
Kristen would later say.
"You taught me to believe in God,
That's why I'm here today."

For the Lord gave this life to me,
For better or for worse.
I can treat it like a blessing,
Or treat it like a curse.

Now she is grateful for her life,
And thanks God every day,
For the light that pierced her darkness,
And helped her find her way.

If you do not believe in God,
You have the right to choose.
But should your children wish to learn,
Don't hastily refuse.

Their reasons may not be revealed
Until the bitter end.
When they are resting in the ground
Beside my daughter's friend.

End.