Appreciating my friends

Since I have made it my practice to make notes of life’s lessons on Fridays; today I want to acknowledge the role of friends and the lessons from the friendships in my life. I have met wonderful friends along the paths of my life. People that have laughed with me, listened to my silly stories, rebuked my childish actions and cheered me on when I needed it. They simply shared their lives with me and have contributed to this lovely woman I have become. My mom and my big sister used to think it was a bad idea to have friends. I was constantly warned to be careful of friends, not to be comfortable too much. I was taught as a young girl that friends are dangerous; they use and leave you lonely and bitter. As a teenager, I was naïve to the idea that friendships can be harmful; I had no idea how bad friendship looked like. To me, my friends were my world, they were my company, it was the world where I shared my thoughts and who I was and I loved that they accepted me. What could go wrong with that? Anyway, as I grew I learned that Mommy was right. Not all friendships turned out as great as I wished. I now know the pain of being let go by a friend because they thought I was not so cool anymore, or because I think I am better. Sometimes I had to let go of friend because we were not good influence on each other. Whatever the reason of losing friendships, I now know that just like anything in life, things can go wrong and sometimes friends are not friends anymore. However I am so glad I have more positive things to say about friendship. I have enjoyed different kinds of good friendships in my life. Today I want to appreciate the friends that have now become part of the family. God has grown some of my great friends into sisters and brothers. I now have more sisters and brothers because of the friends that have chosen to stick it up with me. One of the greatest friendships I am grateful of is with my husband. My relationship with him started as a friendship. As an 18 year old student I could not comprehend that in just a few years he would become my closest friend and partner for life. I appreciate the fact that he always inspires me as a friend and as a Christian. The presence of having him as a husband and friend has challenged me to grow and pursue who God has called me for and that I appreciate about friendships. When friends challenge you, cheer you on to become the best you can be, those are the friends to keep. In many ways than one, my greatest friends are those that have constantly moved me to the feet of Jesus. For these I am very grateful. #Appreciatingthegiftoffriendships #Ilovemyfriends #MyFridayNotetoself #IthankGodforyou #AndriesmyBFF