Friendships from God

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Living in Kansas City as a college student and young adult, God gave me the best group of friends. We all met at church and we hung out together, graduated together (well, not literally, as we went to different colleges), experienced our first "real" jobs together, grew in our Christian walk together, some of us got married, some even had children during that time. And some of us, including myself, moved to other parts of the country.  As we moved, we did so knowing we had the best group of friends that thought of us, prayed for us and supported us in our new journeys.

Over the years, we've not kept in touch well. Which, in my case, is almost shameful as one of these great friends lives only an hour or so away from me. We both admit to being quite poor at keeping in touch. :)

As I've grown older and experienced many life changes -- dating, marriage, children, jobs, etc -- I've learned that friendships sometimes are harder to make as we grow older. And, many times, are different.  In many cases, friends you have as a couple are different than friends when you are single and so on.  And, quite honestly, I've mourned that fact over the last couple of years. I have many friends, but none like those dear friends from my young adulthood.

A month or so ago, I was bemoaning this fact to my husband. He gently reminded me of all the friends I do have and how special each one is, but I wanted that "special" friendship.  In that moment, I wanted what I wanted and nothing he could say made me feel any better.

The next weekend I dug my cell phone out from where it is usually buried deep in my purse and found a message left by the friend I mentioned earlier that only lives about an hour away. Carla had left a message to let me know that another friend from this same group was coming to town in a few weeks and would I be around to be spend some time together? Would I be around??!! You bet... no matter what!

As they pulled into our driveway last Saturday, it was like there had been no time since we had last seen each other. I hadn't seen Carla in almost two years and Betty I hadn't seen in 12 years. It was if those years didn't exist.

As the three of us, along with my husband and children and Betty's newly adopted son, sat around and talked and laughed and shared and laughed some more, God gently reminded that I DID have special, dear friends. I already had the friendships that I had been asking God for over the last few years.  

What I needed to do was to BE a friend and keep in touch.  I live in a large metropolitan area where a one hour drive is nothing.  Why am I not spending more time with Carla that lives that distance from me?  Betty lives in another state, but in this age of technology how hard is it to pick up a phone, type an email, or send a text message?

So, this week, I am thankful for wonderful and dear friends that are with me where ever I go. They may not be physically nearby or a part of my daily life, but they are there and I need to protect those friendships, nurture them and not let them slip away.

I'm also thankful for such a sweet reminder from God that He has already answered my prayer and did so many years ago when I was first setting out on my own. He gave me a very, very special gift in this group of friends.  Friends that I found I am as close to today as we were when we first met over 20 years ago.



What are you thankful for today? Join us in sharing our thanksgivings this week by visiting Iris at "Grace Alone.... ".



18 Thoughts Shared:

Beth E. said...

What a beautiful post! It reminds me of a little poem from long ago...

"Make new friends, but keep the old; One is silver and the other gold."

Blessings to you, friend! :-)

Rocks said...

Made me miss my old friends :) I know how happy it is to have special friends in the Lord..Have a nice day Melanie!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh, this is so great! It warmed my heart. Reminds me of Michael W. Smith's song, Friends are Friends forever if the Lord is Lord of them...
God bless you.

Denise said...

Such a lovely heart felt post.

Sandy said...

This is such an important reminder to all of us. Thank you so much!

Kristi said...

God does know every desire of our heart. I am rejoicing with you in His goodness!

Barbara said...

How special, I love getting together with old friends, we have friends in MI we grew up with, and still get together from time to time, distance and age keeps us from being together any more.
Hugs have great day, Barbara

Amydeanne said...

I think we all have a hard time remembering to keep in touch, and we can be thankful for those friends who inspire us and encourage us! so yes, I'm thankful for my friends!
Great post!

Joshlin said...

Great post! I know exactly how you feel.

Have a blessed day!

Jessica Kramasz said...

I was thinking the same thing that Widbey Woman said - Friends are friends forever, if the Lord's the Lord of them.
Thank you for this beautiful post.

Daughter of the KING said...

Beautiful post...

Cathy said...

Beautifully said.

Rita T. said...

I so loved your post tonight. I have felt a lot of the same feelings about friends...thanks for posting.
Have a wonderful week!

Debbie Petras said...

I'm so glad you reached out and responded to your friend. It takes work and time to maintain friendships. Life often gets in the way but there's nothing like a good friend.

The best friends are those who you can pick up right where you left off, whether it was a year or ten years.

Blessings,
Debbie

i said...

Hi Melanie, I'm thankful for the same thing too! It's recently too I re-learned the same thing ;-) Your post is a good reminder to me.

Shelby said...

I LOVE this post! I really don't have any old friendships like you do, having lost track of everyone far too long ago, but I do have some new potential ones that the Lord has put in my path. I simply need to cultivate them.

And I'm finding that the basis of your post applies to other areas of my life as well. There are areas over which I've been in prayer but if I really think about it, God has already provided the people or the resources or whatever -- I simply have to realize that they're there and then continue on.

Thanks for this eye-opener. I never come away from your blog without having gotten some insight into both you and myself!

Meredith said...

I myself found a "long lost" college friend on facebook last week and was having some of those same thoughts! Thanks for sharing and encouraging!

bp said...

Hello! I read this the other day on my google reader and didn't come by at the time. But I wanted you to know it blessed me to read this!

God bless you,
Bethany