Friends...

A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

WOW!! What a crazy week the past seven days have been! I feel like I have been on a friendship roller coaster and, frankly, I am ready for this ride to come to a HALT!! This past week has been one of refreshing and fun beginnings, joyful ups, hurtful downs, and plenty of drama-filled loops! Now, don't get me wrong, I love roller coasters, but not this one. And I'm not really sure what God is wanting me to learn through this, but I trust that He is using these stressful situations to sharpen me and draw me more unto Himself, and for that, I am so thankful!

(First the good!) I am in the midst of developing several new friendships with a few college girls that are younger than me and I am so excited to see what will come of those. So often, I find that it is harder to develop lasting relationships with people younger than oneself because they are, at times, in different seasons of life. Not to say that it is impossible, just hard. But I think that these few friendships that are in the works are definitely worth the effort. I am excited about my new friends and can't wait to get to know them better. No telling what God has in store for our friendship!

(Now the bad that turned to good!) I have this friend, whom I love dearly, that was on the verge of being erased from my life based on the way in which they treated me. It got to the point that I would just rather not have this person in my life at all, disassociate myself from them and any activity that involved them, than to continue to be put down and treated poorly by this person. No need for details, just to say that I felt like I had tried so hard to be their friend and all I ever got was enemy-like treatment in return and, after putting up with that for literally months, decided it was not beneficial for me to continue to call this person "friend." So, after an all-together hurtful afternoon with this person and an evening filled with crying out to God and others for advice and help, I came to the conclusion that it was no longer worth my time to even try. But, the very next day, God proved that He, not my friends, was the ultimate voice of decision in my life and breakthrough occured! I recieved an apology from this person and a truly remarkable plea for our friendship. Stunning how God reveals Himself through difficult situations! And now, the best news from that story, I HAVE MY FRIEND BACK!!

(Now the bad that hasn't turned to good yet, but I trust God!) So, in the midst of all the other friend drama, there was only one person that knew the situation. This person pretty much knows all that goes on in my life, to the extent of talking on the phone at least 3 times a day! And I'm not really sure what happened, but for some reason we haven't said one word to each other since Saturday evening. I mean, I don't if it was my fault, their fault, or what, but I do know that it has been a miserable 72 hours without my friend. I want so badly to not handle this over the phone, but I don't know if I will see them before tomorrow and that may kill me! It is has been my prayer that God would reveal to me the issue at hand and that restitution will be made. I love this friend and truly desire for us to be friends for life and I just want so badly for us to work this out! Pray for me/us!

I have been so blessed in my life to have some truly incredible friends. Friends that know me and are known by me. Each one of my friends has heard me say that I would GLADLY do anything for them and I mean that. Without my friends, I would be so lost. But even in the midst of friend crisis and drama and total melt-down, there is one friend that has never left my side. Jesus Christ has exemplified for me what a true friend looks like and, for that, I am so grateful. I am not at all perfect, but He continues to love me and call me "friend" and I can't, for the life of me, figure out why He loves me and wants to be a part of my life. But I am more than thankful for it! God is so good.... :)

Greater love has no one than this, that
someone lays down his life for his friends.

John 15:13