I ran into a friend in Walmart's parking lot last weekend (as in, our paths crossed; not as in, with a car or buggy). It was so nice to see her! It had been nine months or so since we saw each other last. You might think "How good of a friend could she be if you haven't seen her in nine months?" The truth is, we probably haven't spent more than a few hours together- ever- yet I call her my friend.
There are just some people we (we, in the general sense) click with. (The grammar police inside my head really wants to change that sentence to "with which we click", but that sounds weird.) There is something about their nature that draws us to them. There's a familiarity, a warmth, a sense of kinship. So it is with the friend I saw at Walmart. Her daughter and my oldest daughter had a year of preschool together- over a year ago. We had a few nice conversations at preschool events, and my family attended her daughter's birthday party. (The girls were best friends in class.) Other than those few encounters, we haven't spent any time together. We're not even Facebook friends! Yet I call her my friend. At first glance we are very different. She is a few years older than me. She was born in a different country. She is Catholic; I am Protestant. She is Latina; I'm white. Yet, I call her my friend. So what is that can bring two people together in friendship when they hardly know each other? I believe in some cases, it is actually God in them to which we are drawn. The Holy Spirit in one person bears witness to the Holy Spirit in another person, and creates a unity between the two. To me, that is an amazing thing. After seeing her, I guess I just started reflecting on the blessings of those "Barely-know-'em-but-still-feel-close-to-'em-in-a-not-creepy-kind-of-way" friends. I'm thankful that God puts those people in our paths. Do you have some of those people in your life? Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Starting this train of thought also led me to, how thankful I am for the closer, more sustaining friendships in my life. Most friendships are based on a shared history or mutual experiences. My friends from my school days are a connection to my youth. My "mommy" friends offer solidarity and advice for this current season of life. I have "work" friends that I enjoy being with in our eight-to-five cubicle world. And some friends are even family. Whatever the connection, the most successful friendships are those that also have a spiritual basis. Paul encouraged the church at Philippi to "be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind." That combination makes for a pretty tight bond. I am thankful for those friends with which I can swap recipes, arrange play dates for our kids, vent about work problems and husbands, and share our dreams and fears. But I'm grateful that some of those also happen to be the ones I can trust with a prayer request, those that encourage me in the faith, and those that point me toward Him when I loose focus. To those friends, "thank you". You know who you are. And to my friend from Walmart parking lot, I hope to see you again soon! Proverbs 27:9 Ointment and perfume delight the heart, And the sweetness of a man's friend gives delight by hearty counsel.
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I confess- I use to have a preconceived notion about people that blogged, about blogs in general, and especially the "mommy blog" world. It all seemed a little egotistical to me- like "let's write about me, what I like, what I don't like, what I do, what I don't do, how I feel, what I think- and everyone I know will be chomping at the bit to read it every single day!" I also found it strange that people would share their lives with the virtual world, where just anyone could come stumbling across their heartfelt words in cyber space.
But- here I am typing a blog post past midnight when I have to be at work in the morning. So, what has changed? For one thing, I started realizing a few months ago just how powerful the "mommy blog" world is. There are some powerhouse moms out there who have the skillfullness and vision to take the commodities of their words and wisdom and actually turn them into an on-line business. That's impressive to me! I'm not saying that's my goal, but I think it's pretty cool it can be done. I have also realized what a wonderful witnessing tool the "mom blog" can be. There are some amazing women in the cyber world that have used the tools they have to reach hurting people with the love of Christ and to encourage others to share His love, too. In the age we live in, going into "all the world" to share the gospel is a lot easier than it used to be! Whether we feel called to missions or not, we are connected by technology to a potentially global audience, and I admire those that use their blog platform as a ministry. So now that I have a greater respect for the art and act of blogging, I have to ask myself what is my purpose in it? I think for me it's about introspection, going out on an emotional limb by making myself a little vulnerable (without being emo- which is "geek speak" for "overly emotional", in case you didn't know. I only adopted that word because my husband is a geek), and in part, it's about using this medium to keep my brain from shriveling up and dying. I have three kids- that is very taxing on the brain!! So maybe this blog thing can be somewhat therapeutic. However, there's also a good chance this is a phase I am going through and my first post will also be my last. Who knows? But for now, I'm sleepy...... |
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