Make New Friends but Keep the Old

“Make new friends, but keep the old. Some are silver and the others gold.
A circle is round, it has no end. That’s how long I want to be your friend. “

Who knew this age old song that I sung in Girl Scouts years ago would bring me to tears one day! HA! (I cry too much)

I can’t begin to express how thankful I am for the friends that God has put into my life. I have worked with, lived near, served alongside, attended church with some of the greatest people ever! As I’ve moved cities 6 times in the past 6 years, I’m grateful that distance hasn’t separated me from those I love to be in the company of.

Today my heart is thankful, but also sad. I was very grateful for a visit with two new friends here in Madagascar and some of their kids today. One woman is from Switzerland and the other from The Netherlands. Both are basically next door neighbors and have moved to Madagascar this past year for their husbands’ jobs and are doing ministry. Both ladies’ husbands work with different piloting mission organizations that fly missionaries over Madagascar either by planes or helicopters! They are incredible organizations and a huge blessing especially when traveling by road here is not easy or possible at times. Both have reached out in little ways this past week and one brought me a pineapple while I didn’t feel well :-) I love the kindness of their hearts, their love for Jesus, and the sacrifice these families have made to leave their homes and be here. They are incredible moms and it’s inspiring to watch them juggle their littles in a new place.

While I LOVE playing with these cute kids andI really enjoy making new friends with their moms, it also makes me miss my friends back home. I really love and am so grateful for the friends in my life. I got to text back and forth with 3 friends tonight and FaceTime my baby brother for the first timer and tell my mom Happy Birthday at work. Wow—am I ever thankful for technology?!?! Thank you Jesus for all things “i” and “face” ((iMessage,FaceTime, iPhones, Facebook)). I appreciate relationships like one of my closest friends has 3 boys and a baby girl on the way and while we’ve never even lived in the same city, she’s so consistent in prayer and love in my life. I love how several other friends have moved all over or remained close to me even with my move(S). It’s so amazing that no matter what season of life we’re in, God gives us relationships to nurture, challenge, love on and mature us.

I’m a very relational person and people make my heart happy! It was very difficult to move so far away from home and not be in a close large community like I’ve been in every other time I’ve moved. I went to a huge school growing up, attending a large church and basically don’t know a stranger. I thrive on meeting new people and interacting with others. I’m thankful that despite language barriers, age differences, and cultural challenges, that there are some great smiling faces here that I’m getting to know better. I know that for some people, social media is more negative than positive, but I’m more thankful than ever for it. While I understand priorities in life should come before Facebook and such, I love seeing pictures of friend’s lives, hearing their hearts, praying for them through online interactions. It makes the times when I am face to face or digitally on FaceTime that much sweeter. It makes the lifetime relationships not miss a beat when I feel like we’re able to be in contact often. To all of you who make me smile, challenge me, and encourage me via social media—thank you!

Relationships are what you make them to be. I’m thankful that I’ve had the privilege to live in amazing places with amazing people, serve in one of the best churches for years back home, be connected to other great ministries, and experience laughter and tears with some incredible people.

If you’ve made it this far through my blog today, thanks for being a friend. Thanks for investing love and encouragement in my life and thank you for being you! You make life fun and inspire me to have people like you in my life! A simple text to say hello, a pineapple, a coffee goes a long way and warms my heart!