Friday, March 2, 2012

Friendship

First off, let me apologize for letting you down yesterday.  I promised to post a new thought each day during lent, and I failed to do that yesterday.  Each day I pray for inspiration.  Yesterday I had a hard time grasping an idea.  I tried to write late in the afternoon, but I found the creative juices dry up at that time of day.

Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Today I feel especially blessed.  I have been pondering on this verse.  A friend loves at all times.  At this time of the year I think of my BFFs.  For those unfamiliar with the abbreviation, it stands for 'best friend forever'.  And I made mine plural because I am surrounded by many such people.  How can a person have more than one best friend?

First and foremost, I have a someone who is with me 24/7.  I often find myself having a conversation all day long.  I can tell my someone anything on my mind or in my heart.  I complain, make requests, praise and most of all worship this friend.  How wonderful it is to have a companion all day and  night!  I know everything I tell will never be revealed.  My friend is the first one I think of when I wake up and the last one before I fall asleep.  I imagine you have figured this one out, my friend is Jesus.

Another best friend has been with me for thirty-eight years.  We met on his birthday and my true personality was not hidden from his view.  He must have liked what he saw because before the night was over we had a date.  But that is another story for another day.  Two years later we were married and he has been there for me ever since.  To let you think it has been rosy all the time, well,  that would be misleading.  But  over time our relationship has grown stronger and  it's nice to look back over thirty-seven years and the experiences we have shared.

I am also blessed with a group of women  I like to call my besties.  There are seven of us and we gather once a summer to have a slumber-less party.   We are all old enough to be grandmothers, and some of us have the privilege of belonging to that club.   But when the seven of us gather for one or two nights, we turn back into junior high girlfriends.  We tell stories and giggle half the night.  But we are much more than that.  We love at all times.  We have raised our children together.  We had overnights, camping trips, day gatherings with sometimes as many as two dozen youngsters.  We have a bond that goes much deeper still.  Our faith is the glue the cements our friendship.  We support each other in prayer and there has been plenty of opportunities to fulfill that pledge to each other.  I know if I need anyone for a shoulder to lean on, cry on, a buddy to laugh with and most importantly a friend to pray with I can call one of these gals and I will not be alone.

I have sisters, sister-in-laws, sisters in kind, sisters in Christ, aunts, cousins and neighbors, all who I feel I can call friends.  What a blessing that is to me.  And I know there are more friends I haven't met, more kindred spirits to keep in my heart.

And as for the second part of the verse, brothers are for adversity, well maybe when I was growing up.  My brothers and I did fight, but they were also my playmates, my first friends.  I have eight brothers and I consider all of them, along with their wives, my friends.  So I don't think that part holds as much truth for me.  My family helped make me into the person I am today.

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