Time and Friends

Time is a funny thing. Time brings change. Time brings seasons. Time brings perspective. Today, I thought about how time brings friends.

My best friend and I have known one another for more than 14 years. Our friendship only becomes stronger as we get older. She and I are kindred spirits who can start wherever we have left off, no matter how long it has been since we have seen each other. She only becomes funnier and wiser as we know one another. I love who I am when we are together. I cannot imagine my life without her. She is more like a sister than a friend...I owe this closeness all to time. We will be friends, cackling together, when we are in our 90's.

Another friend of mine and I always have known one another since the fifth grade and all through high school. But, once we ran into one another in college, our friendship became closer. Time and life experience had given us something in common...something we could share. We lost touch, but found one another again. Now, even though he is living in another country, time has given us more to talk about, maybe not more in common, but we appreciate one another. Some friendships are just destined to remain. And, I know if he reads this he may scoff, but it seems that God knows when we need to talk to each other. He knows something the two of us don't. We are there for one another when we need it most. I like that. It's comfortable.

Other friends come and go in my life. We come together for a moment, pulling what we need from each other at that time in our lives and then we move on. There is an exhiliaration of finding these friends again. We reunite, get to know one another again, and then just as I make a space for them, they disappear into a fog. Sometimes it hurts when I lose them, but then I grow from the experience. And, I think part of me knows that although they are not there at the moment, they are still somewhere in the background. They are those friends that have given me great memories, I cherish them. If they were around all the time, I may not appreciate them and what they have given me.

Then, there are friends you only have for a short time. Sometimes, these can be the friends who are most precious. I remember my friend Shannon from fourth grade. We were inseparable. And, just as I had found a best friend, her family moved to Texas. I never saw her again, but I have never forgotten her. Another friend of mine, stole my heart. He was my first love. I thought he would be around forever. His life was ended short. I think because I was a teenager at the time, I learned more from him, and his experience, than anyone else in my life.

There are moments when I wish time would not continue its march forward and would let me keep my friends as they are. But, there are other moments when I know that time has made them even more special. Whether they are there forever or only here for a short time, each of my friends has been a blessing in my life. They are gifts sent from God, to shine in my life and help me remember who I am and who I can become.

Thank you...all of you...especially for sifting through my emotional rant. You're wonderful!