Fear and Friendship

As I was sitting down to write this I looked up definitions of friend, friendship, and other similar terms. No definition seemed to fit what I was looking for. Friends are an interesting concept. We're wired to want friends. Jesus had his disciples. Yes He was their mentor, yes He poured into their lives, but He was also their friend. We begin making friends from the infant age. Some friendships are brief, some last a lifetime. We love our friends. We love those we talk to daily/weekly and we love those who are monthly/even yearly relationships.

Thinking about how much we love and care for our spouse, children, or other family members is a constant thing. We spend great deals of time with our friends; yet, we don't often let them know exactly what they mean to us.

Yesterday, something very scary and awful happened to one of my best friends. As I read the words on my phone of what happened I was overcome with a whirlwind of emotions. It wasn't me who had this scary terrifying thing happen to them. Yet, I was filled with fear, sadness, thankfulness that they're okay, an urge to make it right, and so much more. In those moments I was reminded of how much I love this friend and so many others. Friends aren't your children who you tell you love them all day long, and they aren't your husband who you tell morning and night, they aren't your parents who you exchange the typical "I love you" at the end of phone conversations. They're something different. No matter the difference, they are a huge piece of our lives woven into our circumstances. They may be friends from church, childhood, work, or the gym. Wherever they may be from, they're blessings.

Take some time to tell your friends you care. Make that phone call even though you're busy. Stay connected. I'm no perfect friend, and this made me think of other friends I need to call, e-mail, text, plan a lunch date with. We can all make a better effort. Our situations may have changed, moved us to different places, different circles - but that doesn't mean friendships must change.