Cherished Relationships

"Cherish your human connections-your relationships
with friends and family."  ~Barbara Bush

Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loveth at all times.  And a brother is born for adversity."

I just returned from a great weekend retreat with a lot of family and friends. We visited over food and had some sweet fellowship with singing, praying and sharing the Word. There were lots of hugs, warm conversations and recollections of memories.

Most of these people have been lifelong friends. They know me well. I know a good bit about the details of their life. I have interacted with them through childhood.  We laughed at our antics as teenagers on these same grounds where we were reuniting. We have attended each other's weddings, congratulated the births of our children, and celebrated anniversary and birthday parties together. 

I get tearful when I recall the times these friends have been there through the rough times as well.  Their calls, cards, hugs and prayers have kept me going when I felt I was hanging on by a thread. They have loved me "at all times."

I also spent some memorable moments reminiscing with immediate and extended family.  I embraced and loved every moment of our precious time together.  We shared stories and had moments of laughing uproariously late into the night. And I remember that this sweet family shared my tears not so long ago.  This is the family that supports me when times are hard. That family circle is dear to me.  They have been loyal and true and I feel their devotion. Truly they were born to support me in "adversity".

What was particularly inviting about this special weekend is that it wasn't gender, age or specially designated. It was open to anyone. It was so fun to to romp with the young ones. I captured a moment when my husband was pushing our two year old grandson and his little friends in a wheelbarrow! I hope they sit together 50 years from now and talk about it. Last night, we enjoyed a group of youth, the posterity of my friends and my parent's friends, singing a modern rendition of an old hymn. I loved it! Today I comfortably joked with a sweet teenage girl who is the granddaughter of my mother's old friend. Somehow a tight friendship that originated  60 or more years ago spanned several states and generations and affected us today.

I was so impressed that the special time this weekend was made possible because our parents and grandparents cherished and nurtured family and  friends for a lifetime. It was a priority.They all experienced fun times and adversity together. They stood by each other through decades, thus giving us this beautiful chance of sharing friendship, fun and fellowship.

Tonight I am peaceful with having experienced a connection again with people who mean the world to me. It wasn't just an experience for the weekend.  It is a strong bond born of "loving at all times"; the good and the bad. It's the way relationships were designed by God to be. I feel loved and I am blessed.