Together

Today's Five Minute Friday topic was...

TOGETHER

I love to get together with people. To really "be with" people, in a real and authentic way. Ever since high school (maybe even before), I had this innate ability to steer clear of relationships that I felt would honestly be a waste of time.  If I sensed they were superficial with me or that they weren't being honest with me (or themselves), I mean, not everyone is going to like/ trust/ open up to me, right? I'm OK with that. I've always tried to be the kind of friend that I would want for a friend. It's hard to convey this without sounding like I'm full of myself...

I'm just confident that I'm a good person to have in your life because of the One who lives in me.

I believe that God's design was for us to be together with others. He said it was not good for man to be alone. He also says that he puts the solitary into families...that it's better to have a friend who is close by than a brother who is far away...that two are better than one...He depicts the church as His bride and as a family of brothers and sisters...and to let brotherly love continue... I think He doesn't want us to be alone. That He designed us to be together.

 

I've got some really great friends. There's that old adage that if you can count your good friends on one hand you are a lucky "man". I would say then, that I am among the luckiest.

I've chosen to see my life as a garden, and all the people in it are the living things that have been planted there. When I gave my life to Christ, I recognized that He is the Gardener of my life, not me. So I don't really have a say as to who/what is done with the plants in my garden...how long they bloom or produce or even when they need to be removed. Every plant in my garden have seasons, some are long term, some are short. Some are ever blooming, some I'm still waiting for the first bloom, years later.

Some of them are people I see every week (or more), some of them because of different seasons of life or distance, I see only rarely...but we have one thing in common, we are real with each other. We pick up where we left off, there's no worry or fear that one or the other of us is hurt or offended by our lack of time together, no insecurity...there's a common thread that I do my best to convey that I care about them and want to spend time with them (as do they). Some are friends that we laugh together - a lot. Some are friends who together we lament over and solve all the worlds problems together. Some are people I immediately call when I need someone to pray. Some are the ones you have tea with, others a glass of wine, some both. Some have kids, some have no kids, some are grandparents and a few are still in high school or college. Some share the same blood as me, most don't. Some live in other countries, some live a few hours away, others live on my road...most share a relationship with Christ, but some don't. Many I've known for almost 20 or more.

 

 

Being together takes work, it takes effort. I requires dying to myself, often. I try to consciously not be overbearing or bossy or a know it all or any other traits that I know are my own weaknesses, and trust that my friends are well aware of their own and do my best to give them the benefit of the doubt, and not judge or draw attention to their weaknesses, rather to Christ and to the blessings we already have.

 

I want to be an encouragement. Someone who, when I've been with them and after we've parted, they feel better, uplifted, helped and loved. I hope to learn from others much more than I can teach, though I will share any wisdom that has been passed on to me, since it's not my own...it's not mine to keep :) I try to be a light, a messenger of hope and someone who brings peace wherever I go. I love to get together with people. I love the people in my life, the flowers in my garden. I'm very very blessed indeed.

 

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