I have some really amazing friends...this morning I had a few quiet moments to check on them.
This left me praying for the Sweeneys as they settle in for another round of battle at MD Anderson, praying for the Evans as they settle into their new life as missionaries (with 6 children) in Guatemala.
It also left me laughing with Joni & M.
I am a big fan of friendship and what it adds to our lives. To quote Cabell talking about The Velveteen Rabbit in the link above:
"Real happens when we are too tired of pretending to be someone we are not. Too tired to fake it. Too desperate for substance and depth to settle for imitation life or love..."I think this “realness” is something we all long for, in theory. However the reality of it sometimes leaves one feeling like a stuffed rabbit whose joints are loose, whose eyes are droopy and whose hair has been “loved off.” I get tired of "feeling" so deeply, so often. Yet it is more beautiful than words can describe. It is all so bittersweet. "
Relationships are a roller coaster ride because they involve people who live in a world of often unexpected circumstances and all the emotions that come with them. It is a ride that can be exhausting...and exhilarating. I am always learning new things about myself and my God in the process.
Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy; share tears when they're down.
Romans 12: 14b The Message
5 comments:
Totally understanding the quote. My husband was given one to three months to live at the beginning of June. It's been a seven year journey through cancer, but we feel like we got many extra years to finish raising the kids through high school and (almost) through college. In the squeezing tight places God is the most real and the most merciful. What a loving God we serve.
I REALLY love your blog. I just want you to know that.
Love being able to check in on you-only wish we could have more face to face time!
Friends are important - my 13 year old is crushed from a fight with one of her "best" friends who decided she didn't want to be friends with her anymore. I've been trying to teach her how important really good friends are. How only God should judge people. It's extremely difficult not to get down on this friend's level as Anna just cries and doesn't understand because she didn't do anything to make her friend mad - it's really over something very small and silly (to me)-. I had her read Cabell's post regarding the Velveteen Rabbit and explain how "true" friends should treat each other. It's so easy to get involved in all the "chatter" of the girls and not take the high road. "The words of gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost part." (Prov. 18:8) Even though she is deeply hurt, this has been a great lesson of friendship and how much it really means to be a good one. Her "soul may be weary with sorrow" but she can be strengthened according to His Word. (Psalm 119:28) I would NEVER wish to be in middle school again!
J-
John is still excited that R was his first call on his new i-phone, thus his very first "contact".
Is it too forward to beg for a fourth invite? : )
Joni
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