A Knitting of the Souls: The Rare David and Jonathan Relationships
"Be knit together with strong ties of love."
~Colossians 2:2
"And it came to pass...that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."
~1 Samuel 1:18"Be knit together with strong ties of love."
~Colossians 2:2
Imagine, if you can, someone who has seen you at your very best, your very worst, all the messy in-betweens and highs/lows, and still in spite of it all, loves you completely and entirely and sincerely and authentically and unconditionally. Someone who, although they are far from the perfect love of God, reflects that love in such a beautiful and innocent way that you feel safe to be your truest and most vulnerable self with them.
Someone who can laugh when you laugh, cry when you cry (or cry when you can't), and allow you close enough to them that you can be there for them in a similar way. A soulmate who isn't your significant other, and yet someone whose love for you is so sacred, you really struggle to find another, better comparison for the relationship.
Someone who can laugh when you laugh, cry when you cry (or cry when you can't), and allow you close enough to them that you can be there for them in a similar way. A soulmate who isn't your significant other, and yet someone whose love for you is so sacred, you really struggle to find another, better comparison for the relationship.
Before I was 18 I didn't know I could have such a friend in my world. I knew people who had particularly special relationships but I didn't understand them and I certainly didn't think I could have one (or deserved to have one). The types of relationships I'd seen that came close to this kind of love were frequently poked fun of because of the deep love between two people of the same sex, but somehow, though I didn't understand it fully yet, I knew there was far more to them than that.
When I was a freshman in college, the loyal Jonathan to my warrior David danced into my life and stayed there, to my complete and utter surprise and delight. We had no way of knowing that each of us would feel like the other was one of the safest people we had ever met or been close with, but as the months started to pass we each started to realize how special the other was.
Singing together in choir and performing together in the theatre department strengthened our bond through art and music. We quickly became fast friends who even more quickly became soul sisters, who, despite the fact that we had other best friends, both recognized that our relationship had a completely different quality.
A year later we have been brought closer through incredible triumph, incredible tragedy, incredible suffering, and incredible rejoicing, each bringing the other closer to their heart through it all. Both of us have held the other through tears, grieving, and great difficulty. Both of us have celebrated the other's accomplishments and victories.
Both of us have come to the other with deep questions and wrestled with hard topics and issues. Both of us have prayed fervently for the other. And both of us have grown incredibly as lovers of Jesus through knowing each other, with both of us learning new insights from the other about what it truly means to be a human, a woman, and a Christian.
Before I was 18, I thought that just anyone could be the Jonathan to my David, and that the quality or qualities in a best friend were far more basic than they truly were, letting myself compromise and cling to whoever would see me fit to be their friend, while unintentionally cheating myself out of the kind of intimate friendships that were designed to be like Jonathan and David's. After the loss of the girl I thought was my "best friend," I was severely wounded and struggling to trust again.
I do have about three or four good friends from before college, but even they don't come close to the bond I share with my dear L. It took me several months to approach her without balking, because I had been so deeply hurt by others in my life, and I was afraid of backlash. When I finally realized that she was my person, the one who I could fully trust and fully lean against without fear of betrayal, I felt God's whisper to my heart that our friendship was special; I knew there were strings between our hearts that could not be broken.
To be a member of a David and Jonathan relationship is a royal honor and a priceless gift; the sacred nature of a friendship where the souls have been knit cannot be underestimated. It struck me out of nowhere and was completely unexpected, but because it was from God and his hand was clearly moving, I was able to trust that he would go with it where he pleased. I have not been disappointed and he has been faithful to cherish us as he continues to knit our souls together more and more.
Singing together in choir and performing together in the theatre department strengthened our bond through art and music. We quickly became fast friends who even more quickly became soul sisters, who, despite the fact that we had other best friends, both recognized that our relationship had a completely different quality.
A year later we have been brought closer through incredible triumph, incredible tragedy, incredible suffering, and incredible rejoicing, each bringing the other closer to their heart through it all. Both of us have held the other through tears, grieving, and great difficulty. Both of us have celebrated the other's accomplishments and victories.
Both of us have come to the other with deep questions and wrestled with hard topics and issues. Both of us have prayed fervently for the other. And both of us have grown incredibly as lovers of Jesus through knowing each other, with both of us learning new insights from the other about what it truly means to be a human, a woman, and a Christian.
Before I was 18, I thought that just anyone could be the Jonathan to my David, and that the quality or qualities in a best friend were far more basic than they truly were, letting myself compromise and cling to whoever would see me fit to be their friend, while unintentionally cheating myself out of the kind of intimate friendships that were designed to be like Jonathan and David's. After the loss of the girl I thought was my "best friend," I was severely wounded and struggling to trust again.
I do have about three or four good friends from before college, but even they don't come close to the bond I share with my dear L. It took me several months to approach her without balking, because I had been so deeply hurt by others in my life, and I was afraid of backlash. When I finally realized that she was my person, the one who I could fully trust and fully lean against without fear of betrayal, I felt God's whisper to my heart that our friendship was special; I knew there were strings between our hearts that could not be broken.
To be a member of a David and Jonathan relationship is a royal honor and a priceless gift; the sacred nature of a friendship where the souls have been knit cannot be underestimated. It struck me out of nowhere and was completely unexpected, but because it was from God and his hand was clearly moving, I was able to trust that he would go with it where he pleased. I have not been disappointed and he has been faithful to cherish us as he continues to knit our souls together more and more.
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