Friends

Good morning my dear friends.  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  I had a special weekend because I spent some time on Saturday with a friend I have known many years but do not see very often. This gave me the idea to write today about friends.

Notice I addressed you all as my dear friends.  Some of you know me and some of you have never met me.  At least I hope there are people out there I don't know who is reading my eractic, yet heartfelt musings!  Friends, as we all know, come into our lives many different ways.  I was raised in the military so I did not spend all my life in one place attending school with a consistent group of people.  I've made friends and I've lost friends.

Let's talk about the many different kinds of friendships people form.

Best buddies for life friends - These are people who have probably known each other since their childhood.  As they grew up they shared life milestones together and nothing or no one is going to get between their special friendship.  They see each other regularly whether it's just the two of them or with other friends and family.  They share vacations, special occasions and holidays.  They are closer than many relatives.

Part of the Gang friends - These are friends who hang around together in a group.  They share special events together such as weekend gatherings, family celebrations or parties.  They support each other as a group.  There is a core group that remains consistent but they welcome other people who will come and go.

Casual Friendships - I think these are the most common among friendships.  These are people we know from work, church, our children's activities and groups or organizations we participate in.  We form these friendships because of a common bond.  These are people we don't spend special occasions with.  We only see them when we are sharing an event that brings us together.

Lifelong Friends - I'm including this category because these kinds of friends pretty much fall into all the categories I've mentioned but you don't see them very often.  These are the friends you've made along your life's journey.  They've had an impact on who you are today whether it be negative or positive.  You spent a lot of time when them once, sharing good times and bad times and experiencing emotional ups and downs with them.  Then for some reason, as happens in life, we change and they change.  We move in different directions and take different paths but they remain a friend you will always remember.

I am fortunate to have all these kinds of friends.  I do not have a best buddies kind of girlfriend, but I have a best buddy friend in my husbad.  I couldn't be more blessed than to have a husband who shares his life with me.   I have group friends who get together occasionally for fun activities.  I also have casual friends through my church and I enjoy getting together with them when we have activities and on Sundays when we get together to praise our best friend Jesus Christ.

Lastly, I have a lifelong friend.  She is the lady I got together with on Saturday.  We shared a rocky but ongoing friendship for many years until we went took separate paths.  Last week she was on my mind and I called her.  We decided to get together to reminensce and catch up.  It was a great time.  I value this kind of friendship.  This is why I call it this type of friendship "lifelong" because as we mature and change, we realize the impact some people had on who we are today.  They influenced who we are today and they remain friends for life.

As Will Rogers said, "I've never met a stranger I never liked".   I enjoy meeting new people and making new friends.  Thus another good reason to have a blog!

Good day, dear friends.   God loves you and wants to be your best friend, too.

SPG