It is here! One of my favorite days to post on my blog, Five Minute Friday. Actually, I love to post anytime, but this one is fun because I can just WrItE and wax poetically on a word that is attached to many other pens and hearts posting their thoughts and ideas collectively. So before I go any farther, remember to stop by Lisa’s site to see her FMF post and find a few more eleoquent wordsmiths honing their craft.
The word today is: FRIEND.
A friend is a holder of secrets, dreams, and passions. She is a prayer-warrior who walks with you through the fire. A friend is a reminder of truth, even when it is hard. A friend loves deeply, pulls up her sleeves and prepares the soil of your heart while tending the garden bed of weeds when you are unable to bend. A friend pours healing water upon the dry thirsty soil of your heart believing the power of the expected outcome.
A friend speaks real; cries tears of pain when your heart breaks; rejoices when your wings spread and soar.
A friend is a life-gift that follows a winding path when you walk, though not always the same one.
A friend answers the phone at 2 in the morning and then gets on her knees and prays the breath out of her lungs for you.
A friend is honesty, simplicity, giving, hope.
As I write the words, images pop into my mind of the beauties who have graced my life, either by years of continual walking, or by momentary flutters of inspiration. Friend is one of my favorite words, because it something I have yearned to have for all of my memories. It is something I long to be.
I am relational and I love people. It is so easy for me to get attached, and while that can be both good and bad, I have finally realized it is exactly WHO I am. It is how He wired me. And at last, I am ok with that. Finally, I am ok with the path-walking friend who has been solid and continual, and the butterfly friend who sifts in and out taking sips of the sweetness of life, leaving imprints to show they were there for a moment.
The reality is that all my life I have wanted, longed for, searched after that forever friend, and all my wanderings take me to the one place I should make my every beginning. He is the friend who is closer than anyone and because of Him I can be the one who characterizes just a few of the qualities of Friend, above.
For years I have asked the Lord to open doors and shut windows in my life but have not been as gracious with the file on my friends. I have wanted to hang on and clutch them close, not wanting to lose a single one. I treasure them, but in reality, they are not mine to keep; they are a brief blessing, some for life and some for the moment. It is something I need to purpose to be intentional about and sometimes even take a risk with. We can’t go wrong when we purpose to love others as Christ has first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
There is a freedom in realizing the purpose of friendship which is found throughout the Word. In every season, thorugh every valley and mountain top experience, a friend is an image of God’s love extended to us through those He sends to bless.
- Proverbs 17:7: A friend loves at all times.
- Ecclesiastes 4:9-10: A friend picks us up when we fall.
- Proverbs 27:17 : A friend sharpens our gifts and mutes our faults.
- 1 Samuel 20:42: A friendship is a covenant of grace.
- John 15:13: A friend will sacrifice for you.
- Proverbs 27:9 : A friend offers advice.
Friendship is designd on purpose, for a purpose, intentionally to bring His light into our lives. 1 Corinthians 10:17, ” Whatever you do, in thought word or deed, do it all for His glory.” Today, I challenge you to see frienship from a different light. To see it as a way to be a friend and expect nothing in return. To rejoice in the fleeting moments and tuck them in the memory book of your heart and to relish the real deep and moving moments as the strengthening of your walls. And don’t forget to pray… because our friends need our committed life-filled prayers as much as we need them to pray for us.
~Blessings and Prayer
Linking up with Lisa Jo at Five Minute Friday.
What a beautiful post! I can totally relate to the feelings friends bring you, and what you offer to them. And I, too, just can’t abandon a friend even when things seem fractured. In my younger years, I may have walked away from not so wonderful friendships, but I’m not a grudgeholder, and sometimes it’s better to accept the flaws and rejoice in the good things.
Beautiful thoughts!