Voting

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Friendship

A Friend - according to Webster is defined as:

💜 one attached to another by affection or esteem
💜 a favored companion

There are so many ways to define "friend".  For some it is much deeper than how Webster defines it.  For some it is much simpler - an acquaintance, a Facebook "friend".

I have experienced DEEP, honest, raw "I would die for you" friendships.  I know I am very blessed to be able to say that.

I have also experienced surface friendships.  They are nice.  We have something in common - our children, our community, our job. We enjoy each other's company.  They meet the human companionship need that we all have.  They energize us extroverts (introverts: think sunshine for a flower). 

Then there are those in between......the friendships that begin on the surface, as most relationships do, and appear to be on their way to DEEP, real friendships, maybe even lifelong friendships.


Sometimes they blossom into a life long friendship.  An awkward new caterpillar that metamorphoses into a beautiful butterfly strong enough to fly.

Sometimes they do not.  For one reason or another they just don't:

- the things you thought you had in common, turn out to not be enough
- you get replaced by someone worth diving deeper with
- you find someone else with whom you wish to invest your time
- distance - proximity plays a HUGE part in who we spend our time with

Anytime friendships end, it is hard.  It is especially hard when you think the friendship is starting to sprout wings, starting to transform into a lifelong relationship.  Even harder when you are not the one who chooses to clip the wings.

The GOOD news?  GOD is in control of everything, including our friendships.  For those who are blessed to be able to call HIM "Father", HE has your best interest in mind.  So when friendships come to an end, there is a peace from HIM that surpasses all understanding, a peace in knowing that the GOD who created the universe, who created me, protects, guides, and arranges all according to HIS will.  INCLUDING MY FRIENDSHIPS!!!

What does that mean for friendships?

- A common flaw we possess in our humanness is our NEED to know WHY?!  We LOVE a reason and falsely believe we are entitled to one.  There are times in our life when GOD knows there is something we can learn from someone else, something we may be able to teach another.  There may be someone that we can provide a service to, or they can gift us with a service we need.  GOD provides a friend just in the nick of time to show us HIS love by wrapping up a need in the perfect present.  "A Friend for a Reason"

- It is our nature to focus on the beginning of things/the start and the end/the last time....often what falls in between is worthy of our focus.  Rather than focusing on the beginning of the friendship, and where you thought it would go, or the end, when things came to halt and perhaps there is pain, we should focus on all that fell in between.  GOD's infinite LOVE in providing a friend for a time in our lives when we needed one most....or, maybe when THEY needed one most!  "A Friend for a Season"


- Not often, but when HE sees fit, we are given a friend to go the distance with.  That person that will not leave you if you begged them to, the one who know everything about you, knows where the dead bodies are, and still would lay down their life for you just as Jesus laid down HIS.  They are the ones that GOD knows can be there for you in human form to reflect HIS love, to love you just as HE does - even when we are unlovable!  What a treasure!  GOD so perfectly knows who to place in these roles, and who we need to be in that role for....in HIS infinite wisdom, HE ordains these relationships to grow our faith, to teach us, to hold us accountable, to draw us closer to HIM.....to LOVE us!  "A Friend for a Lifetime"





 









Ecclesiastes 3:1-8