To Have a Friend, Be a Friend

I've always liked people.  They're interesting, funny, obnoxious, and valuable.  Sometimes friends and family get a bit embarrassed at my knowing someone almost every time we go out to eat locally.  I, on the other hand, always like to greet my friends - old or new.

My need to relate to people has been both rewarding and distressing.  One young lady regularly shares with me her frustrations, questions and lack of faith.  I love her dearly, but I can't seem to find exactly the right words to share with her to make it all better.  A small friend, a four-year-old girl from church, hugs my legs tightly and tells me how much she likes me. "I want to go to YOUR house," she says.  Priceless!  I still see people I went to grade school with, and, of course, I simply MUST speak to them and make some kind of connection.

One of the greatest rewards of being friendly is .  .  . well, having friends!  Real friends.  Genuine.  Nothing phoney or pretentious.  Friends that know you almost as well as they know their own family, yet stick by you, laugh with you and cry with you.  I especially like it when friends put their work frocks on, even though I never have the nerve or abandon on my own to ask them for help.

Since Don has been ill, there are lots of things that need done that he would have ordinarily done.  I try to keep things up, but I've had a health issue or two that have prevented me from being as efficient at it as I would like.  Last weekend, a dear friend from church (I've literally know him since he was born, so he's quite a lot younger than Don and me) had voiced a desire to come over this week and do some "honey do" things for us.  Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we had 20 people show up to do various odd jobs around the house - painting, cleaning, re-hanging light fixtures and closet doors, and much more.  They brought food and came wearing smiles.  What a blessing they were to us.  Projects that it would have taken me days to do were done in a matter of hours.  We all had such a good time.  There was family here, intermingled with lifelong friends and friends we've only had for a few months.  A real mixture.  A basketful of blessings.

Then, this afternoon, I was laying on the couch resting, because I've been sick this week.  There was a knock at the door.  I opened the door to find my grandson's girlfriend standing there with a little gift bag in hand.  I didn't invite her in, because I didn't want to give her my bug.  The bag was from Kristen and two other young ladies in the church (none of them married) and had baggies of goodies they had made by hand.  How truly pleasant it was to be remembered.  My heart was touched.

While my friendships sometimes bring a bit of discomfort or inconvenience with them, they're certainly worth having.  Life would be much too bleak and lonely without a few good friendships sprinkled along the way.  Are you friendly?  Try it, you might like it!