The gift of friendship…

I love when I find an old blog post in my “drafts” section that just NEEDS to be published….life gets busy and sometimes posts don’t get finished….so…here it is…..

The gift of friendship…

Priceless….

Inexpensive….

Today our family got to soak in the beauty of friendship and the joy of spending time with friends…

And it made me realize how much I miss the simple days of just hanging out with friends and family.

It made me realize how much I miss board games, and puzzles, and the simple joys of laughing with others.

I have realized, lately, how much I enjoy people. How much my heart yearns for fellowship and how much I enjoy loving people and sharing myself and my life with others.

I remember when my oldest was a baby, we used to spend countless weekends with our sister-in-law and her family. Pack n play stored in the trunk, we would set off for an evening of appetizers, and games. The little babies would each have their own bedroom in which we set up their pack n play until we snatched them up to go home. We played countless games of Charades, Passwords, Mafia, and cards.

However, as our families continued to grow, we overgrew the number of bedrooms needed, and our “get togethers ” became harder and harder with multiple children, schedules, and more siblings joining in.

I have fond memories of those times.

Today was such a gift to my family that I didn’t want it to end.

When I woke up this morning, all I could think about were the dishes that filled my sink , and were scattered around my counter.

The past two days had been a mess of quick meals, and long days of Godspell rehearsals and show times. The  house was beginning to show the effects of people who were still living there, but no one was cleaning up.

Reality check…I am not a super clean person. I don’t claim to be. haha.

To say it was overwhelming, would be an understatement.

After sending the kiddos off with their Saturday chore list, I hit the kitchen to tackle those dishes and mop the floor that was horribly overdue.

As I washed dishes, and blasted my Christian praise music, It was pretty relaxing to have a Saturday at home. It was nice to have a few moments of quiet while the kiddos worked diligently in the other rooms.

Then I got a quick text from a girlfriend who wanted to pick up a coupon that she needed.

Typically, I would just have one of the kiddos run the coupon out to her…however, I decided today to send a quick text back inviting her to hang out for a few minutes if she wanted.

What was suppose to be a quick “stop”, turned into a wonderful visit complete with a karaoke “sing off” with all the kiddos.

This afternoon was filled with laughter, and tons of smiles, and it was awesome.

It made me realize that I miss the simple days of hosting people.

Not the ” Pinterest success” type of hosting but the simple invitation for someone to come into your house and just enjoy your company.

I love that out-of-town friends will call and give me a “heads up” if they are in town. I love throwing a quick dinner date together for a college niece or nephew, and I love throwing a niece or nephew in my van for a sleepover or quick play date.

It’s not a sacrifice for me.

It’s pure joy.

It’s one of the ways that I love people. 

I cherish my friendships..and it’s something that I have clearly passed on to my children.

I love to see them walk with their arm around the shoulders of a friend.

I love seeing my teenager daughter laughing as she chats with her girlfriends on the phone.

I watch out the window as my son makes another nerf battle video with his neighborhood friend…and smile.

I love knowing that I have given my children the greatest gift in each other.

As I think about friendship, the ultimate friend is one who will lay down their life for a friend.

I think about how amazing it must have been to be one of the Apostles.

To sit in the company of Christ.

How much joy that must have brought to those tired and restless hearts….

To sit, eat and drink with Christ whose very essence was love.

To feel the peace that His Spirit brought about in their souls.

To neglect sleep, and work only to sit and soak up all that He was.

At one point today, I looked around and everyone was laughing watching one of the kids sing…..

There is a beauty in being with people who are so genuine.

People who you see that radiate the love of Christ.

We are God’s gift to each other.

The body of Christ, the community of believers, who seek His face in each other.

Today was a beautiful gift to my family.

It is a beautiful gift to me.

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter. He whom has found one, has found a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance their worth.” – Sirach 6:14-15