friends

Today was such a good day. Last night I took Katelyn, Mary Ellen to the movies with some of their friends. We spent the night at our pastor's house (they are out of town on vacation). Then today the plan was to play in their pool. I called a good friend and spent part of the afternoon with her while the girls played in the pool. The time with my friend was so good. I love her so much and it was so good to sit and talk for almost two hours...time flies. Friends are such a blessing from God. We have helped and encouraged each other through good and bad times. I left her thinking, "That was so good and I wish I lived closer so we could do that more often!" It is so good to have people in our lives who pick us up when we fall down, comfort when we are sad, confront when we are wrong, laugh when we are happy, etc...you get the picture. I remember when I moved up here and left my good friends in SC. I wondered who I would connect with in a deep way. God has blessed me with several deep friendships up here and I can't imagine life without them. You know everyone wants to be loved....everyone. I have never met anyone who didn't want to be loved. We all have quirks and imperfections, warts, shortcomings....When we love others through all their imperfections we reflect the love that Jesus has for us. He loved us even when we hated him....talk about imperfections! Jesus knew ALL of ours and loves us anyway. When we feel like we have to "measure up" with people, it builds walls and prevents us to love others genuinely. I know I have made people feel like that before and I really don't want to be like that anymore. I remind myself all the time that I am not better than anyone else. Once I start thinking that I am better than someone else, it prevents me from loving them. Of course, my love is not perfect, but Jesus takes even my sin-tainted love and can use it for His glory. :)wow. I was in a situation about a year ago where I felt like I always had to measure up, say certain things, act a certain way,etc. The bar was set and it always kept moving. It was sucking the life out of me. Once I was removed from that situation, it took awhile for me to come out from under that condemnation, but God used people who understand the gospel and God's love to help me. My friend that I spent time with today is one of those people. thank you. Okay, so this is my blog and I just had to write my thoughts down. If you don't agree it's okay. I just needed to write what I have been thinking....sorry if I rambled or didn't make sense. I warned you at the beginning that I am not the best writer in the world. Sometimes it just feels good to write it all out and get it out!
So today was sweet. Time with a good friend is like a cold glass of water on a hot day! :)
One more thought. My daughter loves being with her friends. In fact, kate's friends have become Mary Ellen's friends as well. They have so much fun together! I love there zeal for life, their love for each other and their times of laughter. It is SO fun to listen to them laugh! Sometimes I just sit and listen. I don't have to be in the same room, or be a part of what they are doing at all to be blessed by their laughter! You know how good you feel after a good laugh...it's a good thing!