Make New Friends, But Keep The Old.....

I recently have had the blessing of getting in contact (again) with some very old and dear friends (well, the friends aren't very old, but our friendship is).

A few years ago, when we moved across the country, we left behind some friends who had been there with us through some of the roughest times of our lives. They stood by us through it all. It was very, very hard to leave them behind, but we knew that the Lord had called us away at that time, so we pressed forward.

Over the weekend, I had the privilege to reconnect with a few of these friends, and what sweet fellowship it was to sit and talk with them and feel like hardly a day had passed since I last talked with them. They know me well, and I them. There is always such comfort in that.

There is something special about the people the Lord brings into your life when your children are so young, and you are a new parent. You grow together, you hold each other up in prayer, and yes, you disagree on some things. But in the end, you know that if you ever really needed each other, you would do whatever you could to help.

The Lord is like that to us. He provides those iron-sharpening-iron friends in our lives for a reason: it makes us grow and understand more about ourselves and how to love the way He loves us.

And learn, I have.

No matter what twists and turns life takes (like a hurricane coming to destroy your home, and then coming a few years later and doing it all over again), God does provide... He always does and always will. And those old friends come together to hold one another up in His name; to give strength, encouragement, and material needs, if necessary.

I am truly blessed by these wonderful friends. How many times in one single life can one expect to see these kinds of friendships develop? I've heard statistics that say the average person will have, in the course of his/her lifetime, two to three good friendships that can really be strong enough to stand. I am abundantly rich, for I have been blessed with many more than that.

So, to M. A., L. R., L. D., and R. P., thank you for being the Lord's gift to me! I only hope that I can be as much of a blessing to you as you have been in my life. We have truly been through an enormous amount together. Through it all, you have been more than conquerors in Christ and godly examples to me. I love you dearly!