Alright already! I am finally posting this post. It's been sitting on my desktop. I’ve not been happy with it for some time. I just can’t find the words. I know, hard to believe that has ever happened to me!
The simple truth is that Gretchen Rubin is right. Friends are really important. I mean, really really important. I get that sometimes friends are mostly your family. I get that sometimes people live in such a way that a few friends is all they ever want and need. But you know what? God uses PEOPLE! Thumbing through the CBD Christmas Catalog this morning I found this. Yup. That’s it. That’s what I’ve been wanting to say. 
We ought to consider that friendship is one of the gifts we give other people. Rubin talks about how to do that. Lots of practical advice. Lots of it. Will you take the time to read, Make Time for Friends? Chapter 6. It’s a winner.
Friends are God's Way of Taking Care of Us
And so is this video!
I’ll try to tell you how Rubin describes the nurturing of friendship. If you are getting buried in the other parts of life that don’t involve friends, here are a few tips to keep growing:
Remember Birthdays
Dear Friends, Thank you for the recent gift so precious it made me cry and so perfect it made me laugh and the heartfelt apology because you forgot!
Be Generous
Dear Friends, Thanks for your encouraging words. Thanks for your words of wisdom. Thanks for telling me exactly what I needed to hear in just the way I needed to hear it. Thanks for trusting me enough to be honest and loving and fair... oh! And Thanks Emily, for not forgetting me ;)
Show Up
Dear Friends, Thanks for the call. You know who you are. Thanks for visiting. Thanks for writing. Thanks.... for all the times I’ve cried on your shoulder.
Don’t Gossip
Dear Friends, Thanks for teaching me compassion and consideration, when I got snooty. Thanks for reminding me that life is hard and extending extra measures of kindness is required. Thanks for helping me be the person I want to be. Thanks for being someone I can admire. Thanks for being good and helping me be good, too.
Lastly, Rubin suggests that we make 3 new friends. How do you do that? Get the book!
I can’t help but to think how immensely grateful I am for the years in which I nurtured friendships outside of my family... because now, in this busy season, I rest well at night knowing fully that my friends (who are mostly in their very busy seasons, too) are counting the years and the months until we can make MORE time for each other. Oh friends, I miss you.
Hey Friends, did that video make you smile?
2 comments:
I get to be Judy!....because people always said I looked like her and you are already an Ethel!!! ;)
I am so thankful for your friendship and the friendship of your hubby and kids. It is hard to picture it as a friendship sometimes...so much are you all my heart's family.
I love that "thanks for being good and helping me be good, too."
HUG!
I rarely re-read books but I do think I might re-read The Happiness Project.
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