It didn’t take long for my friend Linda to answer my call.

“Ronny, so good to hear from you,” she said. “How’s everything going?”

“I’ll call you later to talk, but I’m shopping now, and I can’t remember which Kenra hairspray I use. Is it number 13 or 25?”

“13. Definitely 13”.

“Got it. Let me check out, and I’ll call you back.”

We spoke minutes later about life (our families) and death (my sister’s and how I was handling it).

“I don’t know how to handle grief,” I said. “I’m sure that I could list the stages and maybe even get them in the right order, but I focus more on prayer than figuring out where I am in the process. I’m riding the waves and asking God to hold me up so I don’t drown.”

Our conversation took another turn, this time to the impact 19^th-Century evangelist and publisher D.L. Moody had on his generation and wondered who was having a similar worldwide effect. Linda and I share interest in many topics, and we usually cover them all.

In the Bible, Proverbs 13:20 is clear about the friends we should choose. “Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble.”

In Linda I’ve found a wise friend who helps me to keep my heart right, my head on straight, and my hair in place.

Ronny Michel can be reached at rmichel@rtconline.com.