Friendships are strange things. Usually they evolve slowly, the best ones stand the test of time. But sometimes they seem to take on a life of their own. That’s what happened between Ellie and Cat. They were both 18 when they were freshers at university in the South of England. Both embarking on the same three year course in Countryside Management. Immediately they became firm friends. Friends for three years – until the riotous party at Ellie’s flat the night before the Final Results were posted. As the party ended, all the alcohol consumed, the “legal highs” popped, Cat headed back to her place the other side of town – with Ellie’s long term boyfriend in tow! At the end of the party the two girl’s ways parted, seemingly for good.
But just a few months after graduating, their paths unexpectedly crossed again. The meeting could have been a difficult one, but circumstances can change how we see things. For the same day that the degree results were posted Ellie had a spiritual experience, met the Son of God, discovered she too had a heavenly Father – and decided to follow Jesus Christ. (You can read the first story featuring Ellie and her miraculous meeting in the story “Ellie meets her Father” posted on this Blog earlier.)
Now, the two young women renew their friendship, and Ellie tells her old friend about her new Saviour and Lord, how God Himself has changed her life.
Reunited!
Ever since Ellie arrived at the Lodge, it had become her habit, early each morning, to walk along the shore of the sea loch, her Bible tucked into her rucksack. She walked west, the sun rising behind her, towards the open sea, but only as far as the little wooden jetty that jutted out into the water of the loch. It was there that she had first met Claire, her new boss. That was certainly a God-given divine appointment, the morning that she had helped Claire to give her life to Jesus.
Maybe that was why it had become a special place for Ellie. Now it was the place where she often heard God speak – and the reason why she always carried her Bible with her. That morning, the sun just about over the horizon, Ellie sat on the jetty end and pulled her Bible out of the rucksack. She had slept rather poorly that night and, to be truthful, she was now rather cross with herself for letting earthly worries interrupt her rest.
She had lain awake for quite a while, her mind going over and over how she would cope at the Lodge on her own. Yesterday, she had experienced mixed feelings as she waved goodbye to Claire, her two boys, and her new friend Becca. Ellie had watched them drive through the Lodge gate and then turn north, the start of their long journey to the Isle of Harris; the journey that was the start of a chance for Claire to be reconciled with her husband Henry. As the car disappeared into the distance Ellie realised she was now in sole charge of the Lodge and responsible for the well-being of all the guests. Still, she told herself, Ross, the Centre Director had promised to visit her later that morning to check all was well – so stop worrying!
And so, very early in the morning, she walked onto the jetty. The end of the jetty was still surrounded by water, its exposed timbers green with seaweed and studded with mussels, waiting for the tide to return. She sat herself down at its very end and started praying. But before she had got more than a few words into a rather self-centred prayer, God gently interrupted her. He reminded her how He had been leading her in her new life as His daughter. He took her back to that tumultuous day just over a year ago. That was the day she learned her new degree was not good enough either to propel her into the future she had envisioned, or good enough to placate her very irritated father. It was also the morning after the night before, the night her boyfriend Paul abandoned her, going home with her best friend Cat. She had heard not a word from either of them since. But it was also the day she met a new friend, Jesus Christ and He introduced her to her heavenly Father.
That fresh morning on the jetty, it was almost as if she physically heard God speak. He told her that of course she could trust Him. Hadn’t He provided for her throughout that year and His hand directed her path? Ellie found herself nodding! She had to acknowledge that what He said was true. She quickly apologised for being too self-absorbed and resolved to turn her thoughts and prayers towards her once-best friend Cat.
What had happened to her? Ellie had heard from somewhere that she had actually failed her final year and left Uni without a degree. She had long ago forgiven her for stealing her Paul. It was, in hindsight, only for the best! In the past few months she had often thought about texting Cat and trying to get together again, but she had never quite managed it. The time somehow never seemed quite right.
Ellie closed her eyes and started to pray for Cat. For three years at Uni they had been close, spending their time together, partying mostly, occasionally writing an essay, rarely handing it in on time. Partying was the thing. Ellie realised now that they both came from dysfunctional backgrounds. Ellie suffered from a dad who didn’t love her and was only pleased when she did what she was told and succeeded in the things that made him look good. Cat’s parents were so engrossed with their farm, and so cross that Cat didn’t want to follow them into the business, that they just about washed their hands of her. God gave Ellie such a deep sense of compassion for her old friend. There were tears in her eyes as she prayed for Cat to know God, to be her spiritual Father as well as Ellie’s, and with the deep sense of worth that the Holy Spirit awakens.
God told Ellie to open her eyes. One of the things Ellie had learned was to be obedient when He spoke. As she opened her eyes, in the distance she could make out a horse and rider, trotting along the sand exposed by the low tide. As they got closer, Ellie could see that the rider was a young woman.
Small lapping waves were slowly advancing across the exposed sand of the sea loch, encouraged by the gentle southerly wind. As Ellie watched, the rider dug her heels into the flank of her grey Highland pony. He responded by breaking into a canter along the shimmering golden sand. Then the rider urged the horse into a gallop. The horse’s grey mane and the girl’s golden hair flowed in the wind as the horse splashed its way through the waves along the water’s edge, getting closer to Ellie. Soon Ellie could hear the splash of the horse’s feet. A little way from the jetty, the girl reined the pony in, dismounted and cast off the reins, allowing him to wander freely among the tussocky grass that stood between the loch and the lower slopes of the pine-clad hills. She shook her tangled hair and finger combed it into a less dishevelled state, then walked slowly, and it appeared to Ellie rather painfully, down the jetty towards Ellie. Ellie gasped. “Cat! I was just praying for you!” A look of complete amazement flooded across Cat’s face too.
“Ellie Higgins! Is it really you? I can’t believe my eyes! What are you doing here? I thought I would never see you again – that you would never want to see me again! What a coincidence!”
Ellie put her Bible aside, got to her feet and ran the few yards down the jetty to where the astonished girl stood. She flung her arms around Cat and hugged her tight. Both girls started to cry.
Ellie was the first to speak. She slowly extracted herself from her old friends embrace, held her at arms length and asked: “Cat, why are you here, now? What is going on in your life?”
“Ellie, this has become my favourite place to come with Jason. My parents farm the hills and glens around here. I have lived here all my life – apart from Uni, of course! And the least said about that, the better! After that disaster I came back here and have been living in a bothy up in the hills with Jason as my only company.
“But Ellie, yesterday my parents told me I must “learn to fend for myself’, find a new place to live, and that they were no longer willing to pay the cost of keeping me or Jason. In fact they were giving up farming and moving on – without me! So last night I was at my wit’s end and spend hours into the night just blubbing. But then this Lodge with its holiday visitors sort of miraculously came into my mind, and with it a scheme where I could offer pony trecking trips into the hills to the guests if, in return, the Lodge would keep Jason for me. So I came here this morning to find the person in charge – and found you!”
Ellie looked amazed: “I didn’t know any of this Cat! I knew your parents farmed in Scotland – but here! Over there! All this! And she waved her land over the whole area.
Cat nodded. “But they have decided to give up the tenancy and move to Bermuda! The old man who owns the land has just died and they are worried about their future so have decided to give up and go somewhere warmer.”……,.
Ellie smiled, and said a quick”Thank You” to God.
“Cat! I am so pleased to see you! This is no coincidence, it’s a divine appointment!”
Cat looked puzzled. “Have I got the right person here? You are Ellie, the party girl from Uni?”
The other girl laughed. “I was, Cat, until the day of the results, when first my world came crashing down – and then I met God.”
“Oh! I’d heard your results weren’t good – but not nearly as bad as mine! But look at you now – so full of life, so happy – I can see it written all over you! Whatever happened to you was something special. But what are you doing here?”
“This is all part of God’s plan for me, now I am His daughter and a disciple of Jesus Christ. So here I am, Trainee Manager at the Lodge and left in charge for a few days, just a couple of weeks after starting the job. I have been so blessed since I last saw you leaving the party.”
Cat winced. “Oh, Ellie! Can you ever forgive me for what I did, stealing Paul from you that night?”
Ellie held Cat’s hands in hers. “Cat, I had forgiven you by the end of that tumultuous results day! And I’ve been living with the hope of one day seeing you again, and I’ve been praying for you, ever since.”
Cat burst into tears again. Ellie hugged her. Regaining some composure, Cat blurted out: “Well, Ellie, thank you for praying. But life has just gone from bad to worse since we left Uni. And now I am completely at the end of my tether, desperate and in despair that anything good will ever happen to Catriona Macpherson, ever again!”
“So what has happened Cat? You were so full of life and full of plans for your future at Uni!”
“Oh Ellie! Where do I start! I failed my degree – but you must know that! Your Paul abandoned me after a one night stand and told me in no uncertain terms I was a failure. Then when I went home, tail between my legs, my parents told me the same thing and banished me from the luxury of their house to a small cold and damp bothy half way up the mountain. Yes, they let me keep Jason, but only because they thought more about him than me.
But he was my saviour in a way, because I soon developed what my local doctor calls “fibro fog” – brain fog that goes together with a deep seated pain throughout my body and an overpowering physical tiredness. Without Jason I would be stuck in my bothy and just rot!. The doctor says there is no cure – though I wonder if he actually believes it is a medical condition at all! He says he can only treat the symptoms, and that is mostly with pain killers. They only partly work and I hate them because they are unnatural and have horrible side effects. So you can see Ellie, I am in a mess!
Ellie nodded. “Well, Catriona Macpherson, I am here to tell you that today could be the start of the rest of your life – a journey of restoration that could be, will be, as life changing as the 14th of June was for me just a year ago! It’s up to you!”
Ellie, grasped her old friend by the hands, and looked into her forlorn face. She felt such a compassion for her old friend. Cat’s tear stained face only added to the look of despair written all over her and mirrored in her aching body. Ellie remembered how full of life the girl had been when she last saw her. “How a year can change things!”, she thought, inevitably comparing her journey with Cat’s.
“Oh Cat! I was also in a desperate state that results day, not knowing what to do or where to go – completely lost! In fact I got lost in my favourite woods. But then I was rescued by Jesus Himself, even though before then I had doubted His existence. There, in my desperate need, I met God. That day I discovered that I had a loving, trustworthy, forgiving heavenly Father, who always wants the best for me.”
“But more than that I discovered His Son Jesus Christ had been crucified on the Cross for me. For me! The blood that Jesus shed was accepted by His Father as a once for all sacrifice to cover all my sins, both past and future and to allow me to become part of the eternal Kingdom of Heaven. That day I was reborn spiritually. And that is why I am as you see me now, thriving on the love of my Father in heaven. I will tell you the full story, but first I need to tell you about my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!”
Cat sighed. “Ellie, I can see that you have changed, and for the better – that your new life is something special. If only I could have that experience too!”
“But you can, Cat! Jesus died on the Cross for your sins as well as mine. Please let me tell you about Him, then you too can experience His love and find the fulfilled life that I am now revelling in!”
“Oh please tell me Ellie! But have you got time with all your new responsibilities?”
Ellie took out her phone and checked the time. “There’s half an hour before I need to open up Reception. And if I am a few minutes late it won’t matter, because our receptionist Kirstie is always there in good time and if there are any problems she will text me. So let’s do it, half an hour to change your life – for the better, and forever!”
Cat looked across to see that Jason was browsing the grass contentedly. The two old friends sat together on the jetty end, their legs dangling towards the rising tide, the sun rising over the hills behind them. Ellie reached into her rucksack for her Bible.
“Cat, it was only a few days ago I was sitting here in this very spot telling my new boss Claire about Jesus and explaining how we need to be born again spiritually. I need to tell you the same thing. There’s a story in the Bible about a devout Jew called Nicodemus who comes to see Jesus – and hears exactly the same message of truth.”
She flipped through the pages of her Bible and then read some verses:
“There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
Ellie looked up from reading her Bible and smiled at her friend. Then she said: “You see Cat, everyone of us, including you, has the possibility of experiencing a spiritual rebirth. Jesus, through his life, death and resurrection has offered me a new relationship with God as my Heavenly Father – He is now my heavenly Father and He could be yours.”
Ellie saw her friend was unusually quiet, listening intently to what she was saying. So she continued:
“Cat, for me my encounter with Jesus and His Father was miraculous. I will tell you about it soon – it was simply awesome! But it was only later as a good Christian friend led me through this story in the Bible, that I realised what had happened to me. It was that same process of regeneration that Jesus had told Nicodemus. It was being born again, restored to a complete relationship with my Heavenly Father, adopted as one of His children, and importantly for me, accepted just as I was. What had prevented me from having that relationship before was my sin and not having met with the risen Jesus.”
“This story about Nicodemus goes on to talk about that – and elsewhere in the Bible it tells how Jesus’ death on the Cross, the shedding of His blood was an acceptable sacrifice to God – it dealt with my sin and opened up the way to my new relationship with God. Can I show you some more verses?”
Cat nodded, tears once more beginning to fall down her cheeks. Ellie flicked through her Bible again.
“Here’s another key verse.” She read it out loud to Cat.
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
So here Jesus is talking about light and darkness. He tells Nicodemus “God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants”.
Ellie looked across at her friend again. This time Cat spoke: “Ellie I can see myself so clearly in all of this! I can recognise that all this time I have been living away from God I have been living in darkness, my sins preventing me from a life in God’s presence.”
Ellie nodded and went on: “Cat, many people don’t want their lives exposed to God’s light because they are afraid of what will be revealed. They don’t want to be changed. Sin is the condition every one of us was born into because of the sin of Adam. Essentially every person is born in rebellion against God.”
Cat’s mouth fell open. Everything Ellie was saying suddenly began to make sense. Everything that Jesus said to Nicodemus was as if he was saying it directly to her. It was awesome!
Ellie pressed on: “The Bible says that the consequence of sin is death, which means eternal separation from the presence of God. We are told this in Paul’s letter to the Romans:
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“Cat, there was, is, no way that we can restore ourselves – and so God took the initiative.”
Ellie looked across at Cat again. Her friend was listening intently, and Ellie could see her eyes were moist with emotion. She was biting her bottom lip, trying to hold back the tears. Ellie placed a protective arm around her waist and continued her story:
“Cat, this may be the most important thing you have ever heard! God sent His own Son Jesus as a once-for-all sacrifice and He voluntarily shed His blood. For me there was no other answer – it was His sacrifice alone that had the power to save me from the consequences of my sin. That same power-filled sacrifice has the power to save you too!”
“Let me read you one more verse – it’s also in John chapter 3”. Ellie flipped over a few pages in her Bible, then read: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him””.
Ellie looked at her old friend and then asked her a question: “Cat, why don’t you invite Jesus in your life?”
Cat slowly nodded. “Ellie! I came here desperate, without hope. But now I realise how much I need Jesus in my life as my Saviour. I can see there is no one else, nothing else to save me!”
Ellie nodded. “Thats just what the Bible says! “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
“Cat, that is why I decided to throw in my lot with Jesus. First I met Him and then I read about Him. So I have accepted His free gift and now I faithfully follow Jesus as His disciple, my Saviour and my Lord.”
Ellie paused, then went on: “You need to understand that this is a free gift to you as you repent of your sins and accept Jesus not only as your Saviour but also as your Lord. You choose to believe that what God has said is true and that you have faith that He will do what He has promised. It is your response to His grace. Romans 10:13 is an important verse. It says: “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” That will be you – saved by your faith and not by your works. God will then see you, and receive you, through the finished work of the cross. It’s important that you speak out these words of acceptance. You only need to do it once, but the memory of the occasion will always remind you of the steps you took that first time.
Cat seemed excited: “Is that all I need to do? No course to go on, no exams, no need to go to church first?”
Ellie laughed. “You can do it right now, on this jetty! It’s simple! First you need to confess your sins to God. It’s important that you see your sins just as God sees them – that when we sin, we sin against God. Confession means that we call sin sin, not just a mistake, a weakness or an indiscretion! We must each of us take responsibility for our sin, without any excuses or blame-shifting.” Cat looked thoughtful, saying nothing. So Ellie carried on.
“The next thing involves a momentous, important decision. And that is to determine not to sin against God any more. That doesn’t mean you won’t be tempted, but Cat even I have found that God gives me a power I never thought I could have, to resist the temptations that will arise.”
“Then you have to do something perhaps even more difficult. And that is to accept that your sins, all your past sins, every one of them, have been forgiven, dealt with. It’s as if they no longer exist. It says in the Bible that God is faithful and that He will purify us from all unrighteousness. He declares there is no penalty to pay for our sinfulness.”
“And then as you accept and do these things, you will receive a new life, a fresh start, it’s a spiritual rebirth. You will feel different because you are different! No, you won’t be perfect, but each time you sin and then ask for God’s forgiveness, you will know you are forgiven and you will want to say thank you to Him for it. It’s an “attitude of gratitude”!
Ellie looked across at Cat. Tears were once again rolling down her cheeks.
“Oh Ellie! I so need to do this! It’s as if my whole life until now has been as dark as the night, but now I can see glimpses of dawn coming and in the distance I can see a glorious light beckoning me! I need to do this!”
And there on the jetty Ellie Higgins led Catriona Macpherson in a salvation prayer: Cat repeated these words after Ellie: “I truly believe that Jesus Christ is my Lord and Saviour and that God the Father raised Him from the dead. I claim the verse in Romans 10:13 that says whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Jesus, today I call on your name for salvation. Here and now I ask you to come into my heart and save me. I give my life to You. And today I willingly receive You as my Lord and my Saviour. I confess that I have been a sinner. I repent of all my sins. Please wash me in Your blood that cleanses me of all my sins.”
It only took a moment but Ellie felt the power of God coursing through her body. Cat spoke first: “Ellie, I just had this strange supernatural surge of power flood through my whole body. And I have such a feeling of peace and sort of a vision of a new and bright future!”
“So, that’s it then! Done and dusted! Catriona Macpherson you are now a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ and are completely restored to your heavenly Father as his spiritual daughter!”
“Oh Ellie. I feel so different! I came here at my wit’s end, desperate, even suicidal. But now I have a lightness flooding through me that I haven’t ever felt before, ever!” And she burst into tears again. This time Ellie knew that those were tears of joy, not tears of sorrow.
For a while, the two of them just sat together on the jetty hugging one another, two reunited friends. United with one another, but also with their loving heavenly Father. Both of them with tears of joy trickling down their faces.
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
John Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
Text copyright © John Partis 2026
John Partis asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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