"Friends are part of the glue that holds
life and faith together. Powerful stuff."
~ Jon Katz
Powerful Indeed. In yesterday's essay, D.G. shared a similar thought...
"My friends keep me sane - and I am surrounded by great ones. They hear when my voice sounds crazy and come to my rescue. We meet and we laugh, and I feel my dark clouds dissipate."
I've come to believe that Friends are one of the greatest Grace Gifts for the Caregiver.
And I don't take a bit of that for granted. When I was younger and quite naive I never gave my good friends a second thought. They just were, it just was. Never doubted they had my back and I had theirs. We laughed, we schemed (teenage girls y'all), we cried, we grew, we cheered each other on...and then we graduated...and each of us moved on... still friends, the best, but time and distance separates.
And I just assumed I would make friends like that anywhere I went. (Remember ... young and naive...)
Farmer Husband took a job early in our marriage that relocated us to Memphis, Tennessee. It. Was. Hard.
And we were surprised. Never did we expect to feel so...alone...
For whatever reason (and we've analyzed it much over the years), we never did make good friends during our time in Memphis...and not for lack of trying...neighbor potlucks, church socials, ladies get-togethers, school functions... we did it all... and 3 years later we still felt...alone.
I can remember the time that our son needed some minor surgery (minor for the doctor, major for a little 5-year old!) We sat in the waiting room at the hospital...alone... not a friend called, nor stopped by... It was an incredibly lonely, frightening time. And those memories remind me, always, what a powerful gift friendship really is.
3 years in Memphis came to an end and the good Lord moved us to Texas. As the saying goes, I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could! (Now, you know that I love Memphis too, just saying we had a kinda rough patch there...) And it wasn't just Texas (well, ok, Texas is pretty grand), it was the way we made friends almost before the moving van was unpacked. Strangers who became like family overnight... perhaps it was the 3-year "drought" that made us so receptive! But those friendships continue to this day, 20-some odd years later.
I cherish each and every one.
If you have a friend, or two or five like this then you know the power. I have learned over these past years that friendships do just happen (magical) but that they also need tending (work). Yes?! And it is some of the most enjoyable work I have ever done!
As with my crazy, overgrown garden
the tending comes in two parts, and both will find my on my knees:
1. The Praying: Prayers of Gratitude for a God who gives generously, a harvest that is plentiful.
2. The Cultivating: weeding, mulching, staking, watering, all of which require spending time in the garden.
Friendship is the same. My prayers of Gratitude for His Gracious Gift of these friends simply spills from an overflowing heart.
But the Friendships also require my tending, cultivating. Making time to spend with them is so crucial.
And that's the best part!
To my dearest friends... you are the icing on the cake of my life. I adore you each and know that God placed you smack-dab in the middle of my journey to be the sweetest blessing. May I in some small way honor you for the gift you have given.
You are Grace to me...
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