Friends are Friends Forever...

Admit it.

If you grew up in the church at all, especially as a teenager, you have the whole Michael W. Smith song going through your head right now.

That is okay.

I do too.

So why the song?

Well, this summer, one of my "bucket list" items was to reconnect with friends.

I have often said that beyond my husband and family (parents/sister/etc), I don't have a BFF.

I don't particularly even care for the term BFF. Or bestie. 

I just don't.

I do have friends.

And some are really good.

Maybe I am too quirky.

Or ornery.

Or just too transient (we moved around some when I was a child).

I don't have that one BFF who knows me better than I know myself.

I don't have a BFF to go on a cruise with though there are some friends I would probably enjoy time with.

Unfortunately, with my four kids and their different kids/events, an occasional dinner out is difficult to accomplish.

Sometimes I am sad about that.

I see things about "My bestie (I really don't like that term but it is used a lot) called me just when I needed her to..."  Or "I am so thankful for my BFF; BFF's are forever..." on Facebook.

And I wilt a little.

Am I not worthy?

But though I don't have a BFF, I do have some good friends.

And I am blessed with them.

They come from different parts of my life.

But they are the ones who I know will always be there for me.

The ones who love me in spite of myself.

The ones who are there for me if I truly need them.

I may not see them often.

I may not talk to them often.

But I know if I called and said, "Hey, I need a kidney", they would at least consider it.

So this summer I did get to see my friend from high school.  We get to see each other maybe once a year if that often.  But as always, it is like we just saw each other yesterday.

Well, today I was blessed with a morning with another friend from my early married life here.

We used to do a weekly Bible Study together.

We were newlyweds.

We went through pregnancy together.

In fact, I am pretty sure she was one of the first people I told when I found out I was pregnant.

Eventually our Bible Study came to an end.

And so did our time together.

We used to run into each other on a rare occasion.

But as is normal with life, things got busy. We kept having more kids.  And though we live in the same region, we live in different cities.

Our paths rarely cross.

So this summer, I sent her an e-mail (she is hardly ever on Facebook). 

And again, it was hard to find time to meet.

But finally we did.

This morning.

It just so happened to work out that Mark was going to take the little people for an outing.  The big people wanted to sleep in.  So I was on my own.

We agreed to meet at a park.

I couldn't wait.

Except I had to.

Apparently there was some kind of "walk" going on (like maybe a charity thing?) so getting TO the park was a challenge.

But eventually I did.

And as has been my experience, all of the years of not seeing each other were forgotten.

We just picked up where we left off (with some updates on our lives, children ages, etc).

We spent about 2 1/2 hours talking, reminiscing, philosophizing, sharing, catching up.

It was wonderful.

We left with promises to do it again but not wait as long next time.

And I plan to stick to that.

Because we need those friends.

Friends who are loyal.  Who listen.  Who encourage.

What I treasure most about this friend is her love for God.

She loves Him.

She seeks Him daily.

She walks with Him daily.

I can't quite compare to her spiritually.

I love Him too.

But I am not as faithful as she is being in the Word.  Praying.  Listening.

However, because I know Him, and she knows Him. 

And that is the reason we are friends forever. 

Blessed.

Reba