Friendship

Friendship is one of the most important aspects of life...I know that now.

It was so easy to take advantage of it when I had easy access to my friends daily or weekly...even monthly.

However I have learned in this last year and a half how important friendship is and how easy it is to take advantage of and how difficult it is to be without friends close by.

When Mr. Wonderful and I moved back to our home state from Missouri, the state we'd lived in for four years at that point, we knew we were leaving some of the best friends we had ever had.  It was one of the hardest things we have ever done and in the days, weeks, months and year and a half since it has become harder and harder to be without those precious friends in our life.

What has taught me the importance of friendship the most is the lack of friendship here.

I am typically pretty slow to make friends, especially after a big transition, I tend to fight my my introverted nature to reach outside of myself and make connections. But eventually I need friendships so much that I can pull outside of myself to make them.

We have been in our new community a year and a half and we have yet to make any lasting connections. And to be honest that has been really really hard. It makes us miss the wonderful friends we have in MO even more. We get to see them rarely yet we keep in close touch.

We appreciate them now more than ever.

We have tried and made connections only to have to connections taken away from us for one reason or another.

Currently we are in search of a new church and in prayer that with that will come Godly and lasting friendships. Fellowship with others who are like us is so vital in our lives.

Just this year I have had moments that have opened my eyes so widely to that.

We traveled back to MO for a beautiful baby shower and we were showered in our friendships in that process. We stayed with our great friends for the weekend and I was able to have breakfast with my BFF and coffee with my Bestie (our titles). Those moments are absolutely priceless to me.

Sitting across the table with my friends who love me unconditionally and know me in all my ugliness and struggle and supporting and loving me in my pregnancy was unbelievable.

My most vivid memories included:

Coffee with my Bestie who is also in ministry and being able to tell her my struggles and knowing that she can understand like no other because she understands ministry and she knows me and my heart so well. I can never thank her enough for that time, that precious time however brief that it was...it was life giving.

Or riding in my BFF's car as we chatted and went here and there just being near and sharing our lives together, it is so easy to be with her, she too knows me and my heart and accepts me completely. She has been with me through every up and down, she has listened and she has allowed me to be a taker in our relationship so much over the past year, she understands my heart and where I have been. Just being with her was life giving....precious precious time.

It's those most mundane moments those everyday or just one on one moments that I truly miss the most.

I miss just being able to be together and share moments together. I miss my friends.

I am praying that new relationships are on the way for us, but I will hold tight to the precious friends we have far away and I will cherish them completely. I know what a true treasure they really are.