Good Monday Morning!!

Since my Saturday post is two days late, it probably doesn't have the same flavor as normal. This is the first time I just plain out let my life get in the way of my blog post and I now know one of these days, I am going to write a post and just not post it so I have an extra. Kinda like having that zip lock bag stuffed in the freezer that is a last minute Crockpot meal if things happen to not go as planned one day. It is on my list.

I have had so much fun this last weekend, and it has all been due to having fantastic friends. A couple of weeks ago, our preacher was on vacation and we had a friend of ours filling in. On that Sunday night, we looked at the teachings of Paul and studied Timothy. He told us that we should all concentrate on finding a Paul in our lives, someone to look up to, and then we should have a Timothy in our lives, someone that we know is looking up to us, and then we need at least one Barnabas. (He presented this lesson to his college youth group first, and one of the kids asked if multiple Barnabases would be Barnabi, it has stuck at our house and we have talked about our Barnabi a lot since)- anyway Barnabus would be a friend, who is walking the same path.

God has blessed me with so many Barnibi in every area of my life. I have four friends that have known me all my life, 2 of them I don't normally go more than a week without talking to at least some. I have 4 friends that I work with everyday that know me probably better than I know myself, and several friends that I work with at different capacities from all over the state, 3 of these are also those friends who know me extremely well. And then I have my very best friend, the one who was waiting on me at the train station Friday night, and was here when I got home Saturday night, and was who I spent my date night with last night, my dear Andrew.

So now, I am going to go from Jason's lesson a couple of weeks ago to Pastor Dave's lesson yesterday. It makes everything fit into place. Of course, tomorrow is Valentine's Day. For many of my friends, it is overrated and I know this but David used a passage of scripture yesterday that I just fell in love with, because it is not just talking about that husband and wife bond, but about all of our bonds.

Ecclesiastes 4:8-12

 There was a man all alone;
    he had neither son nor brother.
There was no end to his toil,
    yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.
“For whom am I toiling,” he asked,
    “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?”
This too is meaningless—
    a miserable business!

⁹ Two are better than one,
    because they have a good return for their labor:
¹⁰ If either of them falls down,
    one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls
    and has no one to help them up.
¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
    But how can one keep warm alone?
¹² Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

And of course, the third strand there is having Jesus in your relationship. I saw a very real instance of this Friday evening. I had ate dinner in downtown Chicago with three friends. As we left, one headed the other direction, and though I know she lives there and is very used to doing those things, I felt a little sad that three of us were walking away, I texted her a couple times that night, and I felt better knowing she was home and safe. (Yes, Jen, I know you are laughing right now), but as the three of us walked down that Chicago street, very much out of my comfort zone, I didn't feel the least bit anxious, we were a group and everything was fine. One of my friends stayed with me until I was ready to get on the train, since this was all new to me, I was grateful for that as well. It's good to have friends.

There is also a saying out there that one true friend is worth more than a thousand acquaintances. How true that is.

I have seen that first hand over and over the last few weeks. My friends have stood by my side and encouraged me, wiped tears, made me laugh, and prayed with me and for me. Yes, I am blessed.

I want you to take some time and look at your friends this week, I know everyone reading this has at least one friend because you are either reading this because you and I are friends, or you are reading it because a friend of yours is also a friend of mine. Either way, take a little time out to tell your friends just how much they mean to you. 

To my inner circle, you have no idea how you have kept me going, I pray I can or have done the same for you, but that is my commitment to you, if you need a friend, you know I'm there. And to those who I get to see once in a while, I always think of that saying that people come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. I am glad you are in my life, whichever one of those you fall into, God put you and I in the same path, and I am the richer for it.

I am leaving you with  an old, old, song, and it is even secular in nature. Once upon a time, there were records, singles were called 45's, one of my life-long BFF's gave me the 45 one time, and it describes our friendships to a tee. Funny, that was back in the days when we were all just a daily phone call away, and here we are, 30+ years later, and this is still how I feel, and I know, they feel the same. 

Thank you, Lord, for Friends.