Making time for friends and cultivating relationships has been heavy on my heart lately. My heart's cry was encouraged to know it was on to something when I read one of my favorite blogs the other day (http://www.kellehampton.com/) and at my weekly Bible study on Tuesday morning. Kelle wrote her Hallmark post on friends, which was such an insightful read for me as my heart had been stirring and mind had been rolling through thoughts and feelings of my friends. But at my Beth Moore Bible Study, the video message she presented touch my soul. She spoke on how we need to be good traveling partners (http://www.lifeway.com/Product/stepping-up-a-journey-through-the-psalms-of-ascent-video-sessions-M00000129#).
One of the Bible verses I came across was... Exodus 33:11a "Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend." This made me start thinking. Negatively at first in regards to people who don't bring their complaints directly to a person. They just write a facebook status or blog post about it or talk to someone else about it. How many times have I done this myself... shame on me. Perhaps more conflicts would be easily resolved if we just talked directly and only to the person with whom we have the problem.... but I'm getting away from my point.
Friends talk face to face! And while I love facebook and blogs as much as the next person; I love my true friend more. They are part of me. Last Wednesday felt like the perfect time to put my thoughts into practice. I went to visit a friend. She used to live close and even attend the same church however since they moved (almost 4 years ago), other than emails, facebook messages, occasional phone calls and Christmas cards, they only time we see her and her family is when they came or were passing through. So I packed up all four kids (ages 1, 2 1/2, 2 1/2 and 4) and headed out for a road trip. It was a great adventure. It was exactly what my heart needed. I loved the visit more than you can imagine and I think it touched her too. We made effort to go to them, to see their new home, to play in their yard. What a blessing.
We plan to do this again tomorrow except with different friends. I want to make the effort; to go (even if traveling an hour or two can be hard with so many small children), to spend time in their life. I cannot wait. We have pizza, pumpkin carving and pumpkin patches and visits to the mall planned. I love these women and their families... they are family to me!
So love your friends. Make real time for them. Love on them. Talk FACE to FACE with them and your hearts will bond!
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