On Friendship
I’ve sat at the laptop a few times trying to imagine what would be worth sharing with my measly audience. My work with Marigold had come to a standstill with many visitors and two littles to take care of. Marigold has been in Ukraine, working to help people caught in the war, and not as readily available, leaving me feeling a bit discouraged and wondering when momentum would return. All too quickly my curiosity gets the best of me and rather then write I end up “googling” whatever random topic has been floating around in my mind that day. And the sacred time to sit and create is gone.
Yet. Today. With a new candle lit and a slight breeze coming through my cracked window. I am ready to write on Friendship. It is a sweet thing to feel the beginnings of a budding relationship. It has taken a year for the dust to settle after our cross-country move, but as it falls into place, my heart is leaping with anticipation. There are some great people around. And the best part is that we get to stay and do life together. Call it the honeymoon stage, call it risk, but diving into anything, being “all in” takes courage and most definitely requires a vulnerability not easily relinquished. At least, I don’t like being THAT vulnerable.
This February Michael and I joined a church bible study. Each week two people took turns sharing their stories. Full of pain and joy. Failed promises and dreams. Heartbreak and uncertainty. And for some, not all, unfolding redemption. The stories reminding us that every beating heart matters; and that our unique purpose is meant to be shared in community. For it is in community that healing and encouragement can abound.
Just yesterday I drove through windy roads to meet with a new friend from the bible study. Now in her 70s, she has lived in Costa Rica since the late 80s and has slapstick humor mixed with storytelling that grips anyone in earshot. Soon after sharing her testimony with the group I could barely keep the excitement in, “she is a writer,” is all I could think over and over, “I’ve got to tell her!” With a writers voice like hers, just imagine the impact she may have! So yesterday, she graciously let me come into her home to talk with her about the prospects of her writing down her story.
In wisdom, she listened to me share a bit about the work I’ve been doing, and hopes attached with it and then, to my great surprise, said, "let me show you some of my writing.” I was greatly humbled and elated – moved to tears even– when she took me to her writers desk and unveiled a manila folder with pages on writing. Even a self-published book from years past. “There are more unfinished stories stashed back in that closet,” she said nonchalantly. Turns out, she is a writer. But would often wrestle with the thought, “What’s the point, there are already so many stories out there?” Dramatic pause and gasp.
Could it be? That God has sent me a friend this brilliant, this winsome, this wise, to do the lonely work of writing with? An “accountability partner” of sorts?
Why yes, that is exactly what occurred. What feelings of joy – to learn that after a time of discouragement, God has organically ordained the opportunity to sit with another and enjoy the unfolding of His stories on blank pages. We’ve committed to a year of deepening our friendship and holding one another accountable to the task at hand.
So. Friendship. What a gift. Had we not decided to take the time to sit in community and open up our lives, this little gift would have been missed. If you’re reading this, and life has taken you by storm with the many demands of the every day, and planning, working, and hustling. I prod you gently, look for an opportunity to deepen the ties of friendship or perhaps start a new relationship. What a gift. What a gift.