Thoughts on Friends

Friends are such a wonderful gift from God.

True friendship is such an interesting phenomenon to me. It requires love, work, time, investment, giving of yourself, vulnerablility, honesty, kindness, acceptance and usually forgiveness from time to time. I guess this is true of all relationships, I just don't really have experience with romantic relationships, so friendships are what I know.

I have friends that are 4-years-old and friends that are 80. Every friend blesses my life in a different way. I'm thankful for each of them and what I can learn from them. Four year olds can teach you about wonder and amazement and unconditional love. Eighty year olds can teach you about strength and courage and joy in the midst of all circumstances.

Sometimes friends are just for a season. This is kind of difficult for me to accept, because I really like permanence. I usually tell my close friends that they are stuck for life. It's true, because I really hate letting friendships subside. But, I truly have seen God place people in my life for a time, when I needed them or they needed me. And then we drifted apart, and you know, I think that's okay.

Friends can have a great influence over you for good or bad. It's up to you to decide. So many friends of mine have made my life better, just by knowing them. I hope my friends can say the same of me.

And then there are best friends - the ones who know everything about you, and love you anyway. The people who understand you better than sometimes you even understand yourself. The ones that you laugh with until you cry, the ones you cry with until you don't have any more tears left. The ones you can call at anytime and know that they are there for you, even if they live thousands of miles away.

I'm not sure where all of this came from, just thoughts floating around in my head this morning. I am so unbelievably thankful for the friends in my life. My list of priorities in life goes like this: my God, my family and then my friends. If you are reading this, and made it to the bottom, then you are most definitely my friend! :) Thanks for the blessing you are in my life.