Who knew that friendship would still be such a mystery in my late 40’s?  I think there has been as much, if not more, times of drama and confusion in my friendships in the last 10 years as there were the entire 38 years before that.  Yet, what I have found to be true is that when you take the risk to truly love and care for others then you open yourself up to the possibility of hurt, drama, misunderstandings, and uncertainty.  Thankfully, you also become available for depth, true intimacy, reciprocation of love and trust, as well as some really great hugs and laughs.

I am thankful for the blessings of friendships in my life.  God has brought people into my life at all stages and on all levels of intimacy.  I may never be rich according to the world’s standards, but when it comes to relationships, I feel so unworthy of the richness in my life.  I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit that I often find myself greedy for more in my friendships, wanting greater depth, more time together, more knowing and being known.  However, God spoke to me about this recently and reminded me that this is a part of His heart in me.  He created us for relationships, with Him and with one another, and He desires them to be deep and real.

Ultimately, we won’t be able to fully realize what God intends for us in our relationships until we cross over to the rest of eternity and we see Him face to face, when we know and are fully known.  Our cry for now remains still that His Kingdom would come on Earth, as it is in Heaven, and thus, we can experience more and more closely the intimacy in our relationships in the here and now that He longs for us to have.  This is a part of the desires of our hearts that He wants to give to us.  Overall, the risks that we take in developing relationships are worth the blessings of friendship, and the added blessing is that we can experience the love of Christ through those friendships.

Here at the start of the new school year many people are focused on how their kids or others’ kids have grown.  We get excited to see all the back-to-school pictures and hear the latest updates on what “Suzy” or “Johnny” are doing at school this year.  Yet, do we think much about how we are growing in the process?

I don’t know about you, but when I was a young person, I thought adults already had it all together and knew what they were doing.  Being an adult myself has been an awakening to the truth that we all learn as we go.  Each phase our children face brings a new experience to each of us.  Albeit, some of us have been better prepared than others, depending on our life circumstances and how well our own parents did, but no matter, we, as individuals, face uncharted waters with each new step our children take in their lives.

For me, this means that this fall will be very different from any our family has ever known.  Two of my children are now young adults and will be in college while I am also in graduate school.  Our third child is a teen and has embarked on her own new journey to learn a trade, thus going to a different school and no longer participating in a sports team at her home high school.  We will be down to three living at home, with no sporting events or practices that we absolutely need to attend.

I have no idea how this will all play out.  I know there will be more ups and downs in the exciting times that lie ahead. But somehow I hope I can convey to my children that I’m still learning and growing myself.  We’re in this together.  I also pray that they can learn from my mistakes along the way.