What is a friend?
What is a friend?
For years I spent a lot of tears and energy on looking for and wishing I had friends. I tried to make friends and it never seemed to work. I never could seem to find a true friend. So, I kind of gave up trying and even hoping and wishing for one. Then every so often someone would come along and I would start trying again. It wouldn’t pan out and I would wonder what was wrong with me, that I couldn’t seem to make friends or that being a friend seemed to mean more to me than them. So, then I would quit trying again. Then a few years ago, I realized something, I had, had a friend all along! A really good friend. A friend who had been listening to me cry about no friends, who had been praying for me to have a friend, a friend who had been there for me no matter what, who knew all about me, knew all my good qualities and all my very bad ones. A friend who is and has always been, whether I realized it or not, my very best friend----My mom. Yes, my very own Mama. The woman I tell all to. The woman who has spent many an hour sitting on my bed talking with me about any and everything. From deep spiritual things to the next crafty project we wanted to try and do. The one that has gotten in “trouble” with me for staying up so late talking J The one who has loved me completely unconditionally. Thank you Mama! Thank you for being my best friend! Thank you for more than I could ever put into words! I love you Mama!
After I realized I had a friend I quit trying to make friends, but for a different reason. This time it was because, I had a friend, I didn’t need to try so hard anymore. If someone came along and we ended up friends that would be fine but until that happened I was fine. And then one day it happened, I gained another friend. It really did just happen. I didn’t try, I wasn’t even thinking about it at all. I mean I liked this person a lot. I was practically living with her and she was my boss. Then one day as we sat down for lunch, she prayed for the meal and she said in her prayer, “thank you God for my good friend, and said my name……” And she continued on with something good about me but I don’t remember that part. All I remember is the “good friend” part. This woman had called me her friend! I had another friend! Did it matter that we are thirty-six years apart in age? No, not at all! Because, it is as I realized, friendship isn’t bound by age. I was such a blessed girl! I had my mom for a best friend and my boss as a good friend too! Not everyone has their boss as a friend! Not everyone has a boss that they have a lot of fun with when working together. But I do!
So life was good, and then it happened again! I gained another friend! How it happened I really don’t know, it just did! I mean I liked this woman a lot, even though I really didn’t know her that well, and she seemed to like me even though I knew she really didn’t know me either. Somehow, at some point I started emailing her ever so often. Then one night I was at this baby shower and this woman had planned the games. One of these games was an, about you type deal, where you had to tell some things about yourself. Well, this game sparked some serious thinking at our house and even led to a couple of posts on here! So, this woman and I were emailing back and forth about this game and she sent me a list of things about herself! Things she said she doesn’t like to really talk about! Wow, talk about feeling honored that she would share that with me! Then I sent her the rest of my list, the part that didn’t go on this blog, the silly stuff, the serious stuff, and the no one other than my parents and a couple siblings know kind of stuff. There was then the, “I can’t believe I just told that” moment, but it was okay for some reason. Because, without realizing it, at some point I had gained another friend! Friendship not being bound by age is true here too. Forty years doesn’t make any more difference than the twenty between my mom and I, or the thirty-six between my other friend and I. Right in middle of all this, I went to work for her! She was now my boss too. I became even more blessed than I was before! Not only do I have my absolutely wonderful mom for my best friend, I now have these two wonderful ladies who have become these friends/aunts/moms/bosses all rolled into two very special packages! God is Good! Good friends are well worth the wait!
Back to my original question. What is a friend? Well, to me these three woman are perfect examples of what a friend is. Here are some ways that they are friends to me. They are always there for me. They listen to me, whether it be through talking, through emailing, or through texting. They answer my “random” questions. They let me bug them with strange texts. They are ever ready to pray with me about whatever I need prayer for. They love me in spite of all my flaws.
While thinking on all of this, a feeling just kind of swept over me. This feeling of wanting to be a friend like that. I want to be a friend to them and to others the way they are to me. I want others to feel free to email, call, or text me whenever about whatever. Whether they need prayer, someone to share a laugh with, or just someone to listen, I want them to feel able to do that with me. I want to be for others the way my friends are for me, someone who cares, who listens, who prays, and who just loves. I want people to know that I am thinking about and praying for them on a daily basis, that they are never alone! I want others to think of me as a friend. I want to be a friend!
So in conclusion, to these three wonderful women I want to say, Thank You! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You have blessed me more than I can ever put into words! Thank you Mama, for always being there, even when I didn’t realize it! Thank you for being my very best friend! Thank you, you other special ladies for becoming my friends! Hopefully, you know who you are! And just so you know, I am bawling like a little baby while I type this, and you are probably some of the only ones who will know the significance of that and how big of a deal that is! Thank you Friends!
Not of This World
For years I spent a lot of tears and energy on looking for and wishing I had friends. I tried to make friends and it never seemed to work. I never could seem to find a true friend. So, I kind of gave up trying and even hoping and wishing for one. Then every so often someone would come along and I would start trying again. It wouldn’t pan out and I would wonder what was wrong with me, that I couldn’t seem to make friends or that being a friend seemed to mean more to me than them. So, then I would quit trying again. Then a few years ago, I realized something, I had, had a friend all along! A really good friend. A friend who had been listening to me cry about no friends, who had been praying for me to have a friend, a friend who had been there for me no matter what, who knew all about me, knew all my good qualities and all my very bad ones. A friend who is and has always been, whether I realized it or not, my very best friend----My mom. Yes, my very own Mama. The woman I tell all to. The woman who has spent many an hour sitting on my bed talking with me about any and everything. From deep spiritual things to the next crafty project we wanted to try and do. The one that has gotten in “trouble” with me for staying up so late talking J The one who has loved me completely unconditionally. Thank you Mama! Thank you for being my best friend! Thank you for more than I could ever put into words! I love you Mama!
After I realized I had a friend I quit trying to make friends, but for a different reason. This time it was because, I had a friend, I didn’t need to try so hard anymore. If someone came along and we ended up friends that would be fine but until that happened I was fine. And then one day it happened, I gained another friend. It really did just happen. I didn’t try, I wasn’t even thinking about it at all. I mean I liked this person a lot. I was practically living with her and she was my boss. Then one day as we sat down for lunch, she prayed for the meal and she said in her prayer, “thank you God for my good friend, and said my name……” And she continued on with something good about me but I don’t remember that part. All I remember is the “good friend” part. This woman had called me her friend! I had another friend! Did it matter that we are thirty-six years apart in age? No, not at all! Because, it is as I realized, friendship isn’t bound by age. I was such a blessed girl! I had my mom for a best friend and my boss as a good friend too! Not everyone has their boss as a friend! Not everyone has a boss that they have a lot of fun with when working together. But I do!
So life was good, and then it happened again! I gained another friend! How it happened I really don’t know, it just did! I mean I liked this woman a lot, even though I really didn’t know her that well, and she seemed to like me even though I knew she really didn’t know me either. Somehow, at some point I started emailing her ever so often. Then one night I was at this baby shower and this woman had planned the games. One of these games was an, about you type deal, where you had to tell some things about yourself. Well, this game sparked some serious thinking at our house and even led to a couple of posts on here! So, this woman and I were emailing back and forth about this game and she sent me a list of things about herself! Things she said she doesn’t like to really talk about! Wow, talk about feeling honored that she would share that with me! Then I sent her the rest of my list, the part that didn’t go on this blog, the silly stuff, the serious stuff, and the no one other than my parents and a couple siblings know kind of stuff. There was then the, “I can’t believe I just told that” moment, but it was okay for some reason. Because, without realizing it, at some point I had gained another friend! Friendship not being bound by age is true here too. Forty years doesn’t make any more difference than the twenty between my mom and I, or the thirty-six between my other friend and I. Right in middle of all this, I went to work for her! She was now my boss too. I became even more blessed than I was before! Not only do I have my absolutely wonderful mom for my best friend, I now have these two wonderful ladies who have become these friends/aunts/moms/bosses all rolled into two very special packages! God is Good! Good friends are well worth the wait!
Back to my original question. What is a friend? Well, to me these three woman are perfect examples of what a friend is. Here are some ways that they are friends to me. They are always there for me. They listen to me, whether it be through talking, through emailing, or through texting. They answer my “random” questions. They let me bug them with strange texts. They are ever ready to pray with me about whatever I need prayer for. They love me in spite of all my flaws.
While thinking on all of this, a feeling just kind of swept over me. This feeling of wanting to be a friend like that. I want to be a friend to them and to others the way they are to me. I want others to feel free to email, call, or text me whenever about whatever. Whether they need prayer, someone to share a laugh with, or just someone to listen, I want them to feel able to do that with me. I want to be for others the way my friends are for me, someone who cares, who listens, who prays, and who just loves. I want people to know that I am thinking about and praying for them on a daily basis, that they are never alone! I want others to think of me as a friend. I want to be a friend!
So in conclusion, to these three wonderful women I want to say, Thank You! Thank you from the bottom of my heart! You have blessed me more than I can ever put into words! Thank you Mama, for always being there, even when I didn’t realize it! Thank you for being my very best friend! Thank you, you other special ladies for becoming my friends! Hopefully, you know who you are! And just so you know, I am bawling like a little baby while I type this, and you are probably some of the only ones who will know the significance of that and how big of a deal that is! Thank you Friends!
Not of This World