Friendship

This weekend I spent time with some of my closest and oldest friends. The Bible says a friend loveth at all times. How blessed I have been to have had these friends in my life for such a long time. Our most common thread in our friendship is our history. We know about each other now, but we have a history of knowing all about each others' pasts. We are different in many ways because of our life experiences. Therefore, we bring a new perspective to one another. I may not have experienced being divorced or widowed or losing a child or visiting my child in jail, but I can come to understand the gamut of emotions you have by my friends sharing their lives with me. All of their stories and tears bring me to a new level of empathy. I am able to ask questions, sometimes quite personal, and my friends share with me so I can understand human nature better and have a clearer understanding that I would not have in my sometimes "sheltered life". I see the strength in the character of these women, and I am encouraged and know that when my time of tragedy comes I will have the support I need to help me along the way. So I salute friendship whether it be a longtime friendship or a newfound friendship. Thank God for those friends you have in your life.