Just Friends

My mom is amazingly blessed with friends.  She has 4 friends from high school, and the 5 of them still get together routinely (5-6 times per year) for fellowship and fun.  I am just a bit envious, I have to admit.  I do keep in touch with a few elementary and high school friends via e-mail and/or Facebook, but we don’t actually get together. 

Last night, as I left a comment for one of my mom’s friends on her FB wall, I was reminded of my friend Sue.  And something hit me . . .

Sue and I were so close and we talked on the phone so much that we ended up sounding exactly alike.  People (including our husbands and my parents) couldn’t tell us apart on the phone.  And, when we were out together, people would often say “Are you sisters?” to which we would always reply “No, just friends.”

And that’s what I’ve been pondering. 

Because here’s the  thing --- we don’t really have any say in who we end up with as family members, do we?  Yet, on the other hand, we CHOOSE our friends. 

All relationships have issues and require work to maintain them.  To me, though, because I have made an effort to actually select my friends (and most likely this is due to a common bond of some sort), they are worth a lot of work.  And, in the end, if you’ve done things right, you are blessed.

I guess I’m just looking back and wondering why Sue and I would have ever used the phrase “just friends” because, truthfully, there was no “just” about it.  Instead, I’m wishing we would have smiled, and said with confidence, “No, we’re friends!”  And you know what, sometimes friendship is even better than family.  I’ve always said that the old saying about blood being thicker than water is so stupid.  Why does the Bible say “There is a friend that sticks closer than a brother”?  Ponder  that, and . . .

Don’t take your friendships for granted.  Put a little extra work into them, and hopefully you’ll be creating friendships and bonds that will last a lifetime.  It’s worth it!