Friendships

I am content. I love mornings like this when I wake up and my mind does not automatically rush to all the things I have to accomplish in the day. Instead, I am reminiscing over events at my house last night.

Last night we had old friends over for dinner. Two families that we use to meet with every week for home church when we lived in Oakville. It seems so long ago and yet last night it felt like it was only yesterday. Even this morning I am still finding it hard to believe that it has been six years since we have seen some of our friends. We now live in different places, attend different churches, have different jobs and different lives I suppose from when we started meeting. We had two children combined when we first met and last night I was amazed to count eleven running around and playing. As I took in the scene, I realized that the thing that what has not changed is God. As I met with my friends and got caught up on everything that has been happening in their lives, it was evident to see that God was still central. All of us are still wanting to learn more about Jesus and what it means to follow Him. It seemed in many ways that we were still close. A bond that is hard for me to describe. It got me to thinking. Why is it different?

I think it is different because our friendship began through God. It was God centered from the beginning. Each week we explored God's Word together, we shared our struggles, our triumphs and many of the every day details of our lives. We worshiped through song and we prayed together and we prayed for each other when we were apart. I will never forget praying for an entire year with my friends as we prepared to adopt two of our children. We did not even know who God had picked for us and yet our friends prayed faithfully with us, for all aspects of the lives of our children, that we had yet to meet. We were not always perfect and didn't always agree on everything but we supported one and other, we served each other and we were there for each other in hard times and in times of celebration.

So even though six years had passed since we had sat together on the couches of my living room, it seemed just like yesterday, as we sat on them again last night. Many things have changed but the connection that God began in our lives had not. That is what is different. I love that about Him.