How would you best describe your best friend?  Are there specific characteristics you would use or personality traits?  What might be attributes of a best friend?

For me the idea and meaning of a best friend has changed as I have grown and experienced different stages of life.  I remember my childhood and the group of neighborhood kids that I spent countless days riding bicycles and playing baseball or kickball.  My teen years were spent trying to be “cool” and “accepted” just like every other teenager.  Friends become boyfriends or girlfriends and best friends are those we share our deepest secrets and dreams with.  The college years sometimes means a stronger bond with your friends from high school or the creation of new “best friends.”  What I’ve learned so far in my life is that I’ve been blessed with some amazing friends while traveling on this journey called “Life!”  I have also learned that the qualities of a best friend while in high school or college can be quite different from a best friend later in life.  With that being said, I believe that the one thing that never changes is the trust component of a best friend.

I have a favorite poem that has been very special to me for several years and it continues to teach me to this very day.

“Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.” ~Flavia Weedn

I have been so blessed to have had wonderful friends throughout my life, some I have been able to maintain contact  with and some I have not spoken with for a very long time.  I have beautiful memories of all these individuals who left footprints on my heart.

My best friend encourages me through actions and thought-provoking questions. She doesn’t provide answers to my questions, she encourages me to search.  She is truthful and honest, she is patient and thoughtful.  She is intentional in her actions and her words.  She is respectful and sincere.  She would caution me to tell you that she is human and makes mistakes just like everyone else, she is not perfect.  After all, we are all human!

The best word I can use to describe my best friend is “humble” she displays “humility.”  A phrase that makes me think of her is “Trust in the Lord” and “Trust the Plan.”  The fall season/foliage, the turning of the leaves makes me think of her and the joy she receives as she views the many shades and hues of yellow, golden, red, crimson, brown and green, as fall settles in before winter chases it away.  Her anchor verse is Proverbs 3:5-6 and she has a thirst for knowledge; giving and receiving it.  She’s a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, aunt, a cousin, a friend, most importantly she is a child of God!  She’s brave and strong, responsible and reliable, trustworthy and honest. She’s creative and resourceful.

Best friends are special gifts from God! I encourage you to tell your best friend just how you feel, pray for them and thank God for them. 🤓

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~Proverbs 3:5-6

~Blessings and Peace~

References: 

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage?search=Proverbs%203:5-6&version=NIV

Hello friends!  My hope is that you experience the world in a new way today. Every day is unique and never an exact replica of the day before.  Each new day provides new information that was not available to us the day before.  Some days may seem to be a repeat of the previous day, but please resist that urge to discount the day based upon similarities.  When we  decide to settle for the “same ole same ole” we are cheating ourselves of priceless opportunities.  Most of us can relate to the processes we go through everyday that they seem to be robotic and planned out to the tiniest detail.  A favorite movie line of mine seems perfect for this kind of existence, “A life that is planned is a closed life, my friend. It can be endured perhaps. But it cannot be lived.” (The Inn of the Sixth Happiness).

A life lived for me includes recognizing and believing in God as my Creator and the “Creator” of all things.  In believing comes “Trust”, trusting God and trusting God’s Word.  It really is that simple!  So simple that our human(ness) tricks us into doubting the simplicity of it all, we try to rationalize and critique every little thing that we overwhelm ourselves!  With each new sunrise comes a new day with a clean slate to “trust” in the Lord, a new day to “Trust the Plan!”  God wants only good things for each of us, God loves you and me unconditionally.  God loved us so much He sacrificed His son to pay the debt/penalty of sin.

Sometimes I forget and take for granted that I was fortunate to have godly and God-fearing individuals in my life from a very early age.  While many lessons I learned came from attending church some lessons were a result of watching others actively living by being respectful, saying grace before a meal, through helping someone in need, holding a door, by saying “thank you” and “you’re welcome” by sharing joy and sometimes just smiling to someone for no reason at all.

I am sharing all this information mostly because I needed to hear this message of “Trusting in the Lord” and secondly because I’m feeling overwhelmed.  It was a day filled with unexpected news and uncomfortable circumstances both professionally and personally.  I have been resisting the urge to self-implode because well, that would be a stupid and selfish sabotage of myself!  Secondly, it’s too messy and energy wasted.  I did feel an urgency to write about all this, a “Spirit” thing.  If this cracks a window of hope in a moment of despair for someone it’s a win-win!  I feel better simply from writing/blogging about “Trusting in the Lord/Trusting in the Plan” anything more is glory to God and the work of the Holy Spirit.

The events of the day are for me are winding down and rest is beckoning me for sleep…worry will only serve to rob me of rest and rejuvenation, “Trusting in God and His will for my life will bring comfort and relaxation.

In closing, I want to say “thank you” to a dear friend who challenges me and who inspires me daily through her faith and friendship.   

~Blessings and Peace~