A family of friends

The past few weeks, in church, we have been talking about community, fellowship, people living together - make the terminology whatever you would.

This concept is at the heart of how I live my day to day life.  God brings people together to live among and serve together and worship with and pray with and encourage and just share life with. The past ten years, this is how I have lived my life intentionally being intimately involved with others' lives and they with mine.  Some people are constant and always there, some come and go.  But my life is the better and richer for these friendships.

Friendship isn't easy, and it takes time and energy to maintain relationships whether meeting weekly to pray, meeting weekly to drink coffee and share about our week and joys and frustrations, babysitting, messaging frustrations and joys with laughter and mocking thrown in, eating meals together, playing games, talking about books, doing bible study.  The more I spend time with my friends, the more our lives are intertwined and while we may cause offense or give offense especially if you are direct and blunt as I may have a slight tendency to be, we forgive and love.

Recently I have realized anew the importance of friendships.   Friendships are messy but also provide guidance, encouragement, and joy.  Here are some important "friendship" moments in the past 2 weeks alone.

• A friend messages asking me and says she is praying and gives encouragement.  
• Another rearranges her schedule to keep meeting me for coffee when my schedule has shifted.  
• A sister says drink coffee with us.  
• A friend sends me mail while away for the summer. 
• In a time of needing counsel and people who know me better than I know myself, my friends let me show up at their house and just talk to them.  

I could go on.  But what I have been struck with is that these incidents, these friendships, just didn't happen overnight.  They have been built up over time and effort and just being together. By intentionally choosing each other as friends and living life, I have a network of people to fall on when I need to and am more able to met the challenges and joys of life.

I can't imagine my life without a group of friends who are family living through all of the messiness and joys and frustrations and vibrancy of life.