I guess I should go a step further to explain my circle of friendship. There are a few… very few… who know everything about me and that I tell everything to. Those are my life friends. They include Pam, my Mom, and one other person. But I am richly blessed with many more that I call friends, because that is what they are! Let me describe these people…
They are the ones who you know by their words and actions that they love you. They are the ones who stand beside you. They encrouage you. They call you and send you personal letters, notes, and now in the 21st Century… emails. They are people who mean it when they say… “If you ever need anything call me.” They are the ones who defend you to others. They are the epitomy of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a!
The only difference for me between these people and those I call “true or life friends” is time and intimacy. It’s not that either of us isn’t willing to divulge personal details of our lives… it’s just that there hasn’t been time to build the relationshp to that level. Only by spending vast amounts of time… over time… does intimacy develop.
I am blessed that in each church I’ve served I’ve made many friends that I wish I could have spent more time with so as to become better friends. The sad part of life today is that we are pulled so many different directions that it almost prohibits forming the deepest level of friendship. We all have jobs, our own family, and many responsibilities and the result is that love often doesn’t have a chance to come to full fruition. That is something I regret.
There is a reason God said… “It is not good that man should be alone.” God created us as relational individuals for intimacy . I am blessed that there are many people that, given time, we would become much closer than we presently are. Thus there are many who I consider my friends… people I love and care for… people that I know that had we had the time our friendship would have blossomed.
I thank God for my friends, for through them God has blessed me supremely!