This month I've been Bible Quilting verses on friendship, which has prompted me to reflect on friendships both near and far.
As I helped support a local friend during the loss of her dear husband, I was blessed to bear witness as many friends from various seasons of the couple's life came to support her as she grappled with the first tender days of widowhood.
While attending an out-of-town wedding to celebrate the launch of a friend's son, I was delighted to squeeze in a precious 90 mintues with another friend who was about to embark on an adventurous move across the country. A 3-hour trip to meet at an easy-access fast food joint? Totally worth it!
I hosted a birthday celebration for my son last weekend and observed the easy camaraderie exchanged between his local high school buddies and friends he's made at the camp he's working this summer. Laughter and silliness draw us all tighter together, I think.
I'm thankful for the technology that allows me to have multiple text threads in action, knitting me together with college friends and out-of-state family so we can have an on-going conversation til we meet face-to-face again.
I'm grateful for the simple beauty of zinnias snipped from the garden and plunked into a mason jar as a spontaneous hostess gift for a friend having a few of us over for lunch.
We don't have to overdo it with our friends.
We just have to keep showing up and be willing to give of ourselves in the moment.
"Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11
Keep at it.
Nurturing current friendships will blossom in a multitude of ways in the years to come. Seeds that are being sown now will take root and flourish in the next generation.
It's a joy to observe friends bring their daughters/granddaughters to BQ sessions, encouraging them in the Word while role modeling how to be in community with others as they share bits and pieces of life ...the details that can be specifically prayed over later.
I love having ties to other friend groups long-distance, seeing evidence of their friendship through group photos of completed BQ pages they send me occasionally.
In a world with a harsh political climate, everyday violence, and disrespect on daily display wherever we go, it's refreshing to see evidence of friendships enduring these social upheavals.
Long-term friendships provide a holding place for our stories over time, weaving our experiences together through family milestones, kid events, and parental losses.
God is at work within the bonds of friendship, cultivating the efforts made to bear one another's burdens and the joys of celebrating one another's achievements.
How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity! Psalm 133:1
You're invited to share YOUR stories of friendship with other BQ members at our next zoom chat:
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