Loss

Friendship is a tricky thing.  For some folks, it comes easily - it's easy for them to trust someone new with their heart; it's easy for them to invite a stranger in and say, "Look!  We're the same!"; it's easy for them to share their story.

But, like marriage, friendship also takes some work.  You water it with words of love and kindness.  You feed it with deeds of caring and sharing.  You light it with the sunshine of connection and faithfulness.  And sometimes if you do all of those things, a friendship grows.

You can also destroy a friendship.  You water it with criticism and judgment.  You feed it comparison and dislike.  You put it in a dark place with none of your time or devotion.  And a friendship dies.

And sometimes, life itself decides that a friendship must end.  Death is a tragic way to end a friendship.  All other ways can be undone, but not this.

I lost a dear, sweet friend this week.  The type of inspirational woman who deserved a miracle.  The type who believed in miracles herself.  There are two boys who no longer have the friendship of their mother, and that breaks my heart.  There's a good man who no longer has the friendship of his wife, his best friend, and that seems so unfair.  For all of my sadness, though, there's a lesson.

Open yourself to friendship.  Tend and care for those you already have.  Yes, friendship is work but it is absolutely worth it because a true friend cannot be replaced.

Blessings, my friends.

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