Friends

Friends--

It is true that some people come into our lives and stay awhile.  They bring something we need at that time in life.  They are valuable pieces of our history.   These are the folks who eventually move out of our space.  We wish them well as they continue their journey.  Others will benefit from their caring spirit.  We call ourselves fortunate for the moments we shared.

Then there are those who walk in and should have immediately walked out.  Communication is difficult, time spent is not pleasurable.  Yet, they stay for awhile.  We allow this until that one day when we realize nothing positive has occured since they arrived.  However, something holds us back from opening the door and pushing them through.   It could be that we detest the fact that any relationship/friendship failed.  We accept more than our share of the blame.  We search within ourselves for answers when answers were in front of us all the time.  We simply lacked the courage to usher them out.  We learned much.  Hopefully, enough to keep us from walking down that road again.

In between those two extremes are those who come in and go out almost on a daily basis.  These kind souls truly care about many.  They stay in touch.  They offer support when they perceive a need.  They are constant.  We need these folks.  These warm-hearted folk tell the truth but in a positive way.  They never desire to hurt.  They are the salt of the earth.

We need many types of friendships.  We need the silly one who makes us laugh until we snort.  We need the serious one who pushes our thoughts and ideas.  We need the one who has been around for years and refuses to leave.  Even when leaving would be a great idea!  We need the one who loves adventure.  The one who insists we try that new thing that seems almost dangerous to us.  Yes, we need them all.  We need the one who shares life with all its struggles.  Who simply needs us to listen.  

And they need us.  They need our goofy sense of humor.  Our way of doing things that might seems slightly off center.  Our listening ear.  The open invitation to our home and our lives even when we haven't showered or done our hair.  They need our love and our support.

Life would be so empty without all the people who travel through it.  Even those who cause a little distress teach us lessons.  Without these experiences we would never grow into the people we were meant to be.  Difficult life lessons cause us to reach beyond our known into unchartered waters.  From these lessons we learn much about what is important.  We learn ourselves.

Each time I see a friend, my heart sings.  It smiles and giggles.  It opens to accept the gift of friendship.  And I am blessed.