I’m glad to know you, however that happened. I’m grateful for the smiles and laughs we shared even the hard stuff through the years. You’ve made my life better, and that’s no joke.

Every conversation mattered . . . so much.

My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. I like being thankful. I’m thankful for so much. I’ve been blessed, abundantly blessed, and you are part of that blessing. I’m thankful for your friendship.

God brought every one of my friends to me.

Everywhere I’ve lived, I have had a true friend. This friend is someone I share specific parts of myself. I have learned to trust my friends. I used to think it was wrong to share intimate details of my life. I thought private matters should remain private. I was raised thinking that way, but I have learned there is a right time for everything. That’s wisdom.

I feel privileged when you share your heart with me.

A book I read that really helped me realize that I could and should be vulnerable with people was the book Safe People. I saw myself in that book. I was one who held back from sharing (which makes it awkward for others to share when we hold on tightly to our stories and don’t share what may be helpful–things that we have learned from or are dealing with).

Sometimes, neither of us have anything significant to say.

But that does not matter. What matters is that you are there. You show up. You care. You support me. You love me and I love you. I’ve toned down some. I realize that I can dispense unsolicited advice, as my friends know, but that isn’t always good or necessary. It’s enough to be there for one another. Loving my friends and them loving me is what is essential. Love is the thread that makes the relationship strong. Genuine acceptance is a close second.

The more we become real in our authentic relationships, the closer we can become.

The falseness, the pretending, falls off, slips away, and we know we can risk being honest and saying the truth with our closest friends. Trustworthy friends keep confidences. We also stop hiding. Once we die to our false self we then are able to repair and grow. I read where one man of God prayed every day that God would keep him authentic. He learned to rest in God’s Presence. Slowly God’s glory follows on the heels of pain as He teaches us to enter His Presence. We then become encouragement to others.

As Betty Walthour Skinner said in the book about her life, “I had compassion for them because I had suffered too, and my stony heart had been broken to allow love to enter. I was able to encourage them to use their suffering to end their suffering. . . . Our pain and our cross can and will speak to the wounded hearts of others in God’s time and in His way (The Hidden Life).”

The grapes are squeezed to gather the juice. We are trampled by circumstances before we can become broken bread and poured out wine for others. Our friendship may be a silent one for those who read my blog and don’t interact with me, but it is a friendship, nevertheless. You are beloved by myself and by our heavenly Father. It is such a rich relationship, centered in the Beloved.

God makes every day better.

. . .

I wish you well on your spiritual journey.