FRIENDSHIP

I title this blog "FRIENDSHIP"....I've been writing heartfelt things lately about friendship...more specifically about certain people in my life who had claimed to be my "friend", but their actions spoke otherwise...I have friends who go through the same thing I do, except their issues surround actual family members whose legacies involve back stabbing, deception, and treachery.....I am very thankful I have a loving family who does not enter into such things....my demons lie with some of so called "friends" I have had in my life.  

However, I need to clarify that the reason I am hit so hard by the practices of these faux friends from my past is because of level of my regard for true friendship.    I believe in friendship.  I believe in giving your all for your friends...true friends....many of my friends have been my fortress for most of my life.   They have been my rock of encouragement during the dark times of my life.   So, in honor of friendship....TRUE FRIENDSHIP, I dedicate the following quotes:

Don't walk behind me; I may not lead. Don't walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.

True friends stab you in the front.

A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself.

A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world.

The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing... not healing, not curing... that is a friend who cares.

A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same.

ODE to Callie Nowlin - Callie Odom - Portrait of Hypocrisy

It's just amazing to me....I just marvel at the human race.....how two people who have been friends for years can suddenly have one turn on the other one....many times on a dime with no warning and many times with no apparent cause....it just baffles me.....the unkind, uncaring, depraved state of people......I've had several in my life that I've run across that have been that way...as an example:  a very dear friend of mine Callie Odom (formerly Nowlin) just suddenly, for no apparent reason, decided to disappear, and abandon our friendship.   I say "abandon" because when she reappeared again, her actions showed she wanted nothing more do to with our friendship.   No explanation...no opportunity for me to know what happened and to ask forgiveness for anything I had done.    We had been very close...communicating many times a week...praying for each other...everything good....She converted to Catholicism and then suddenly...friendship gone!   I would never say anything derogatory about Catholicism, however, her actions do certainly seem to show her now more caught up with religion than relationship with God....Yet, after converting to Catholicism, she continues almost daily to quote the saints....never bothering to actually put into practice the very things she is quoting....scriptures such as:

 "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." (I John 4:20).....or, "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves." (James 1:22), and "Let love be without hypocrisy..." (Romans 12:9) 

I continue to pray for her daily...that God will speak to her heart and show her just what it means to be a "saint"...the very thing she says she is striving for...

Is is Spring yet??

We just finished with the biggest snowstorm in recent memory here in Roanoke, VA....over 2 feet of snow...the place I worked closed down for 3 days which has never happened before...but, we survived....it was 61 degrees today with bright blue skies...and the remnants of snow still on the ground all around.....quite a sight.....hopefully we're movin' on to warmer things... :)

What's Important In Life

I, like so many others, had been in great anticipation of Superbowl Sunday.   The media, like the fans, was expecting this to have been one of the greatest matchups of all time....quite possibly the greatest offense against arguably the greatest defense of all time....but like life, it had its results in disappointment and disbelief.    It turned out to be the most disappointing, frustrating, lopsided Superbowls of all time.   

It got me thinking about life in general and the expectations we often have of it.     We expect everything to work out in our favor...to be perfect....free from pain and frustration....oh, we'll admit to others that we don't, but deep down we do.....I mean, unless we are deceived and hell-bent for destruction, if we knew the path we were on wasn't the right one, we would change paths.   

There really are only a few important things in life....and if we get those going right, then everything else will work out...and if they don't, who cares?    Family and friends.....people......relationships at any level are the heart and soul of a life.   Whatever struggle you are facing in life....if you have that as a solid focus, you will overcome.    Financial issues, personal concerns, health, etc....these things can really take a toll on us....and can be very difficult to fix (if ever)....but if you have people in your life that you can go to...that will talk with you, pray with you, hold you....take you in if necessary....help to get you back on your feet....be there for you during the darkest times of your life......then if makes those times easier to bear...and your life can be dramatically changed because of it.....

Some are not close to their families.....is it because they haven't tried or we haven't tried?   What about our friends?   Some friends's I have (see earlier posts) have been as plastic as a milk jug.......but perhaps we need to spend some time reflecting on our own selves...our own motives.....our families are....our families....they are kind of with us for life....we need to do whatever it takes to maintain those relationships as best we can......as for our friends...they come and go in our lives....some are here for a moment...a season...several seasons...or for life...even choosing our friends wisely can lead to disappointments (see earlier posts)....but anything worth anything is worth risking for (also see earlier posts).   

A lot of rambling....thoughts racing....but in summary....holding onto the people in our lives....cultivating those relationships....giving of ourselves to the people in our lives....makes life much more bearable and worth living in this world.