some heart friends from afar
My heart friends live all over the place. They live in the Charlotte area, because of the four years we spent there. They live in Phoenix after moving from Charlotte. They live far-flung from real life connections made with once-just-blog-friends. A few even live in my own community.
Friends are hard to come by and should be made a high priority. I’ve realized that it is wise to invest in friendships, because when the hard times come–and they will–it is necessary to have “your people” around.
We will have trials of many kinds while we’re alive, and people that get you and know your heart–those people are the ones who will walk the hard roads with you. They will be the army that will fight your battles with you when they are too hard to fight yourself.
Now, you don’t want to underman your army. That would be foolish and unwise. You also don’t want your army to wonder about your commitment to them. Build into your people–find new people to make “your people”.
Serve “your people”. Love them so well. Encourage them that they are not alone, either. You are their people–you will fight with them and stand with them.
This weekend was wonderful because I was able to connect with some of those heart friends that I connected with first online. We met at Nester’s in my old stomping grounds. This was great because it also gave me a bit of time to go to church at our old church and connect with Charlotte friends for lunch on Sunday. They encouraged my heart so.stinkin.much. I miss them and it felt like we’d just gone on a weeks long vacation–not an almost 2 year hiatus. Lisa Leonard gifted us with this darling necklace–which will always represent to me that extra bit of sunshine this weekend brought me.
In this day and age, where friends are formed online and jobs can move you in an instant–how do we create and maintain friendships? This is something Maggie and I talked about all weekend. If you know you won’t be somewhere long, or you have recently left lifelong friends, or you’ve moved from a place you loved…what then? How are adult female relationships formed and how are they nurtured and how are they maintained?
How do you maintain your friendships? How do you nurture them so they grow in beauty and also dig deep roots?