Not sure how ya'll feel about this, but I want to put it out there for your contemplation and hopefully your response . . .
To me, the most important things in the world are relationships!
Of course our relationship with God is of primary importance. How much time do we spend with Him, how often do we thank Him for the gifts He gives-continually, how much are we convinced of the freedom we have in Him to blossom and become what He originally designed us to be?
Family is important also. Last evening we had our daughter and her family for supper and the evening. No TV, just wonderful chatter, laughter, planning and fun. These are relationships to nurture, especially in this time of upset in the world, banding together has many benefits.
To me, friendships are of great importance also. We have "old" and "newer" friends, and we enjoy every one of them. Since we have moved to the mountains, we have a number of "newer" friends and we enjoy them too. But the "old" friends, the ones with whom you have history and many memories, are the very special ones. Sure you have your disagreements, but so what! You solve the issue and move on. Thing is, you chose them and they chose you in the first place, and you did so because you had so much in common. You laughed and cried together, you worked and played and maybe even vacationed, and these memories are priceless treasures.
What do you think? Do you have precious friends and/or family members that you keep in touch with, that you cherish? Do you let minor disagreements wipe out what you once had? Does that serve you well? Let's talk about it!
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Monday, March 19, 2012
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Hi, there....cherished friends. my hubby just had his 84th birthday and only one of his grandcchildren called him on his day. he has 11.
ReplyDeleteso...we cherish who did call, who did send cards and gifts and who showed up for his party! over 20 dearest freinds and one son. You would have been here if not for Kardia Kare. You were in spirit, as you always are.
No matter where we are, even out of country or out of our minds...we stay in touch. By phone, e-mail, snail mail, visits, through other mutual friends...the Patches, etc.
Grandkids all have their trusts in place and just feel they are owed and owed and owed. yes this is a huge disappointment to their grand dad, yet it does not change his love for them.
Not so easy for me. I was so wounded that I just don't want any more wounds around me. Not very realistic.
this is why I keep close to you two. You know how to help us all "Heal the Wounds that Bind Us." I cannot wait until this summer when Nancy and I can do some work on this...face to face in New Mexico. As always, I want to just cuddle up in my little safe ball in bed and not get well...spiritually that is. Nancy and Ron,their lives, their personal practices and hard work for others....are my wake up call.
Alex and I Love, Cherish, Respect and Need our Freindship with you two amazing gifts from the Lord.
What great words you write! Friendships (even with famil) can be challenging, yet when at least one in the relationship is willing to forgive, then even fractured relationships can be healed.
DeleteThanks for your friendship!
Nancy
Certainly there is nothing any more precious in this world than close relationships, nor anything any more important. I believe that one of Satan's major goals is to disrupt our closest relationships, beginning with the parental relationships, so that we will be fearful of any future close connections with others who come into our lives, causing us to isolate ourselves emotionally from spouses and children. It's the isolation, and resulting loneliness that kills, spiritually and physically as well. By worldly standards, my husband and I have no wealth, but, thanks to the healing work that God has done in our lives through emotional recovery, we are truly wealthy beyond measure. We praise God and marvel over the fact that our children really love us, enjoy being with us, conversing with us. Such a precious gift that, sadly, many parents don't enjoy. So we are rich in this respect, and I would tell anyone who would listen to cultivate their relationships above everything else.
ReplyDeleteI surely do agree, as the name of the enemy's game is "Divide and Conquer."
DeleteBlessings to you and to those with whom you relate - family and friends!
Nancy
Growing up I made it a practice to be carefully guarded, which didn't serve the friendship idea very well. I had "friends" but no intimate friends. Later in life I had friends who needed me. Not friends who knew how to give and take.
ReplyDeleteThanks to you and Ron, I am now learning the importance of intimate friendships. We are currently going through The Destination in our group and I am realizing AGAIN how much I struggle with true intimacy. My norm is to pull away and wear a careful mask. Thank God for a group that keeps me accountable and helps me to get outside of myself and closer toward intimacy.
With all that said, I do have family and friends I cherish now and LOVE spending time with them. I especially love it when my 2 1/2 yr old granddaughter calls me on the phone every morning with a cheerful "Hi Grammy" (all her own doing, no help from Mommy and Daddy).
What a blessing those small groups of women who are honest with each other and freely share!!!
DeleteWe are blessed by you and your friendship!
Nancy
Friends! How precious they are and how long it took me to have a "friend for life" and because of her, learn to open up and be a friend to her and be more confident in forming other friendships too. It is a process of cultivating, nurturing and forgiving when necessary.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up, I didn't have any role models, as we lived pretty reclusively and in shame, because my Dad was an alcoholic. I went to school, but couldn't have any friends come in; and no sleep-overs, so I was about 30 before learning what a real friend was, who shared all of the ups and downs of life with me! I learned to share from the heart and to listen from the heart too!
In the course of my nearly 65 years, I've had disagreements with friends, but we patch them up ~ true friends don't throw their best friends away like expired coupons.
I feel God put each one of us on this earth to help each other along; sometimes for a brief time and sometimes for many, many years. God knows what we need and whom we need in our lives - He brings this about - of this I have no doubt!
I thank God for my very first true friend who helped me open up and dare to share .. for the friends of my past and how they enriched my life, for my present day friends (who still love and speak to me even when I don't keep in touch as often as I know I should), and for the opportunity to meet new people for future friendships-to-be.
The fabric and circumstances of my life is constantly changing and without God's love, guidance, and acceptance of who I am, I would not be brave enough to step out and extend the hand of friendship; it's not easy, it can be risky but it's do-able and well worth the risk!
Secrets divide, don't they? They keep us from what we need for thriving.
DeleteYou are certainly a precious friend - lifelong and (forever) lasting!!
Nancy
Honest communication in love is the only way to live and grow in friendships. There are ebbs and flows. There may be real hurt and disappointment. But with the grace of God firmly holding us, it is possible to nurture and sustain deep friendships. We are designed to live in relationship and share in the lives of other women. We need one another. God knows that.... For a woman to enjoy relationship, she must heal from her need to control and her insistence that people fill her. She must come to know that she has something of value to offer; that she is made for relationship. When a woman is safe and secure in her relationship with her Lord and knows her worth, she can risk being vulnerable with others and offer her true self.
ReplyDeleteWhat great words of counsel and instruction. Thank you so much for sending them!
DeleteNancy