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.