INSPIRASUNS

A few weeks ago I shared a story about a group of friends in FL who helped me decorate an area of our home. It’s been great fun getting to know these new friends. We’ve shared stories and learned so much about each other, and we’ve built a strong friendship in a very short time.

Well, last night I had dinner with a very dear friend in Scottsdale. She and her husband moved here several years ago because of his health and her need to be closer to family.

Mary and Tom were dear friends of ours back home for many, many years. We invited them to our Rally of the Clan Thanksgiving Dinner one year with our rowdy family, (we topped the charts at 31 guests our last year of hosting), and they made it an annual tradition after that first year! Mary always brought the pies 🙂

When they moved to AZ several years ago, a small part of us left with them. Mary called me the night Tom passed away in 2018. I remember that call vividly. I was at our annual conference that year as well, walking home from dinner in San Antonio. I stopped in my tracks and just listened as she shared his final days. Tom was a good and gentle man and he was always so gracious.

Mary shared with me last night at dinner, that I was the first call she made that night after Tom passed away. She felt the need to call me first. I never knew that and was honored to know that our friendship was such that she wanted to reach out to me at the most difficult time in her life.

Father places people in our lives for a reason I believe. We are not here to walk this path alone. Yes, we are walking it with God first and foremost, but we are walking it with each other as well. We need to be here for each other, we need to be the rocks that hold firm when our friends are shaky, we need to be the sounding boards when friends and family are at their wit’s end, and we need to be here to listen when they need to share their grief, fears or their successes. And, we need to make sure that Father is in the midst of those conversations.

So cherish your friendships, both old and new. Know that Father is bringing people into our lives for a purpose. Don’t look past, dig in and grow those relationships, just like Jesus did 🙂

Proverbs 17:17,
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”