Good friends are like stars.....

... you don't always see them but you know they are always there!

Last night I was talking with one of my best friends and we got to talking about the old TV show The Golden Girls and how we can just watch the same episodes over and over and always still laugh and smile!  I woke up this morning still thinking about that!  And that made me think about how important my friendships are...

1. I love that I can say "one of my best friends"!  This means I have more than one and I absolutely do.  I don't have a ton (of best friends) but I do have a handful and all are special in their own way.  Some I talk with frequently and others not as frequently but they all enrich my life as, hopefully, I enrich theirs!
2. The reason we can enjoy The Golden Girls no matter how many times we see the show is because these women portrayed the best in friendship and this always makes us warm and fuzzy.  They had fun, they did so many things together and they ate cheesecake - that has to be a cornerstone of a great friendship!  But they also argued and had disagreements.  They managed to always forgive one another any transgression because their love transcended all.  I have friends like that, too!
3. I tried to picture putting together my own group of golden girls and realized that each of my friends could play any of the TV roles!  I am truly blessed to have such a group of friends - strong, smart, kind, generous, caring and loving.  
4. The Golden Girls also showed that age is not relevant in your choice of friends, it's character that really counts.  One of my greatest blessings is the deep friendship I enjoy with my own mother.  When I was a young person growing up, Mom was indeed my mom.  But as I flourished in adulthood (a nicer way of saying got older!) we started talking more about our lives, sharing opinions and recipes and laughs.  I think the combination of mother-daughter and friend relationship gives us the deepest connection, one I so love and appreciate and celebrate!  (My daughter and I are now starting on that same path and I am forever grateful for my mother being the perfect role model for this change.  Thanks, Mom!)
5. I learned from watching the show that best friends are gifts.  We don't know who or where to look, we just need to recognize when it happens and to celebrate the moment!  You never know when you might meet your next friend - at home, at school, at a party, at work, at church, at the grocery store or through your own children or other friends!  And good friends are not chosen by race or sex or religious preference, your friends can span all of humanity! And always you should marry your best friend!
6. Friends are important because they accept each other for who they are.  Friends are important because they allow the space to share ideas in their formative states and provide valuable feedback.  And friends are important because they can agree to disagree without losing each other!  (A good friend will tell you if you have food stuck in your teeth or there is a spot on your shirt!)

God recognizes the importance of having friends in our lives.  In John 15:13 Jesus says "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends."  He continues on in verse 15 to say the "I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from the Father."   Best friends have each others' backs and we share our secrets.  Just as the Holy Trinity always has our backs, they also deal in the truth, even if it hurts!  (Proverbs 27:6 "Well meant are the wounds a friend inflicts..." )

Friends are sacred and special and an important gift to us.  They can make the difference between a great day and a not-so-great day.  They can be a source of delight and a never-ending fountain of comfort.  I am so grateful for each and every friend in my life and thank God for allowing me to find them!  May we heed Paul in his first letter to the Thessalonians when he says "Therefore encourage one another and build up each other, as indeed you are doing."  1Thessalonians 5:11

And, you know who you are,  thank you for being a friend!