Friends: Don't take yours for granted!

Just as lotions and fragrance give [the senses] delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. —Proverbs 27:9, The Message

Today’s my best friend’s birthday. (Happy Birthday, Kristy!) And she’s very far away, so I can’t even see her on her birthday. That makes me sad, but I know her sweet husband will make her feel very special in my absence.

Friends are such a good gift from God. I don’t know about all of you, but if it weren’t for my friends, life would just seem pretty pointless. (I guess that points to the whole “made for community” thing we’ll discuss in an upcoming issue of ec. Get excited!) My friends are the ones who encourage me, hold me accountable, make me laugh, and with whom I can relax and have fun. What makes you grateful for your friends? Have you told them why you’re thankful for them lately?

It seems I’m more aware of how great my friendships are when my friends aren’t around, especially all my college friends who no longer live near me. I guess I kind of took them for granted back when we all lived within five feet of each other in college. But now that we’re all out on our own, spread across the United States, I really miss those girls! I miss the open, honest communication. The jokes. The common stress and annoyances with school, professors, and projects. The camaraderie as we dealt with that stress. The meals. The guys. The laughter about the bad dates with said guys.

I don’t know about you, but I hope that you’re not taking your friends for granted. Don’t miss an opportunity to tell your friends how grateful you are to have them in your life. You do not know what tomorrow holds, so take today (and every day!) to be the kind of friend you’d want to have. You won’t regret it, and neither will your friends.