Friends are friends forever if...

So much has been written about friendships and I wonder if I could possibly think of something that has not been said already! But because my friendships are so important to me, I have to do at least one post about them. This thought was inspired by another wonderful blogger and child of the King who recently wrote a short post on how she appreciated her friends. She added the signature song from the TV series, The Golden Girls, called, Thank you for being a friend. How many other lyrics have been composed about friendships through the years, I wonder? My favourite ones are, Friends by Michael W Smith and the ever popular, You've got a friend, by Carol King.

My childhood friend, (from Grade 2) came for supper last night. We enjoyed a hearty meal, looked at photographs and spoke a bit about the good old days, shared new ideas and had a fun time as always. She lives many miles away and so every visit is cherished and new memories are made. When she left I wondered to myself what has made this bond between us survive 47 years! It could be that through these decades there has been genuine concern for one another - my heart will not forget those things that made it feel so light - the cheery voice on the phone, words of encouragement when I needed them or even a shoulder to cry on at times. I have several wonderful friends, so many to mention. Erma and I were introduced to each other by our sons in the eighties. Our boys were only in Grade 4 then. She lives far away now too. There are regular letters in my postbox from her. They bring sunshine on the gloomiest days. This friend seems to know the art of thoughtfulness and understanding and I miss her smile so much when we have not seen each other in a while.

I have to mention Caroline. I was her teenage babysitter when she was just a little girl. They lived in South Africa for a few years and then returned to Holland. We kept in contact, first with letter writing and later over the Internet. We even compared notes when our baby girls were born a few weeks apart. I was wonderfully surprised when this special lady booked a flight all the way from the Netherlands to be with me after my traumatic diagnosis and operation in 2005. My heart was filled with gratitude when she attended my 50th birthday tea to celebrate the new life that awaited me after the trial and tribulation of my crisis!

Then there is Inki whose wisdom brings me strength. I love Fiona and Adele's love and care. By the way, it's thanks to Fiona's technical skills that she is so willing to share that I'm now blogging! There are so many special people whose hearts are in tune with mine. I wish I could mention all of you, but this post will become too long!

How I look forward to meeting many new friends on this journey called life, but never forgetting the old friendships! Why don't not make contact with that long forgotten friend soon?
Remember, a friend's a friend forever if the Lord is the Lord of them.



My prayer today: Thank you so much for my friends, Lord. Please bless them today and always!