Saturday, June 23, 2007

friendship

I spent last night with an absolutely amazing set of people. As we talked, joked and laughed until we cried, I couldn't help but think about what it means to be "friends." I've been thinking about that a lot lately. I think I am coming to understand more and more the responsibility of the dynamic we call "friendship."

The more life I live and the more people I meet, I come into a deeper understanding of the impact one human life has on another. I would dare to say that, far too often, we fail to recognize the responsibility we have for how our life impacts the people placed in our world. A person may walk into our world for just a small window of time, but even then, it is a life- a relationship on some level- to be valued. Or maybe it is someone that has been around for so long, we take it for granted. This is nothing profound or new. It's just a pattern of thought that I've been having over the last several days about the value of people. To be a friend is to take stock in the heart and soul of another person, even when it's uncomfortable, and especially when it's hard.

PEOPLE MATTER MORE THAN OUR FEELINGS, MORE THAN OUR PLANS, AND MORE THAN OUR FEARS.

When we forget that, we hurt the very people that have been placed in our lives by God for a very specific purpose. Thank you to those of you who encourage me to be a better friend, and to those who model what a good friend is. Your lives are invaluable.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

YOU, bets, are an amazing friend. I thank God for your heart, and that He saw fit to share it with me. I love you.

Oz said...

Betsy -- I like your take on Friendship.

In a perfect world, I'd win the lottery and buy a whole subdivision where my friends would move in together.

Of course, if I did, I'd find some friends who got more of my time and others that possibly felt slighted.

In other words, it wouldn't be a perfect world either.

So I think that means that we have people who are our "neighborhood" friends, our "small group" friends, our "blog" friends, our "former close friends who need a place to stay in Atlanta" friends, etc.

All of those are okay. Someday, in heaven, we'll get the time to really sit down with everyone.

For now, there are the little slices of time that we have to enjoy and pour out into our friends.

Scott said...

Great blog...

coffeegirl said...

Betsy,
That was very good. It seems you wrote this a long time ago and I just read it, but still very thought provoking. I feel that I have some praying to do about a couple of friendships, very convicting!
Love, Mel