A Friend in Christ is a Treasure

Good friends are hard to find, but they are out there!  There have been many people in our lives who have come and gone, and as I am growing in faith, it is becoming less painful to say good bye because I trust that God has a plan for each person He places in our lives.  Once every relationship is viewed in the light of Christ and His Love, the ups and downs are easier to handle because Christ is always the same and He never leaves.  And we can recognize that it is Christ loving us through those people with whom we are friends and Christ loving them through us.  With Christ in a friendship, it is possible to truly love another person for that person's sake, not for one's own selfish reasons.  And with Christ in a friendship, it becomes possible to truly forgive and to be forgiven.  Today, I am speaking about relationships where Christ is the foundation for both sides, but in reality, this can apply to all people with whom we meet and interact.  We can love them for who they are, love Jesus in them, and hope for Jesus to come into their hearts when it seems like they do not know Him.  In all of this, it is Jesus Loving us, and them, with an eternal Love.

One such family that has come into our lives will be moving away next week.  We knew they were only here temporarily, so it has been easier to prepare in this sense, knowing always that they would be moving.  But it did not stop us from nurturing a close friendship in Christ.  Christ has provided us with the freedom to enter into a friendship that we know will change over time, and to dispel the fear that we would get too close and then have to say good bye.  It is sad to say good bye, but yet, I also have a great amount of hope and am looking forward to see what Jesus has planned for them and for us over the years.  I will truly miss spending time with them, and so will my husband and our children.  The best part was how well our entire family got along, moms, dads, and the children!

Really, God has provided such grace in all of this.  We both homeschool; we both had 4 children when we met, and had babies 1 month apart last year.  I came home from the hospital on Mother's' Day, and their daughter was born on Father's Day!  Our families are both lego fanatics (well maybe not us moms, even though we think legos are cool); the dads are both Eagle Scouts and went camping with the boys' cub scout troops, we love playing games (except a couple of us need to work on the other two about their lack of desire to play cards ;)  ); we went to Mass together for the first time in our newly restored Cathedral here in our diocese; both moms blog; and both families have a heart for Jesus!

Our oldest son Joseph will be going to his first confession this weekend.  Joseph has found a true lego soul mate in their oldest son, Kolbe.  They have spent hours building legos together.  Kolbe made the card shown above for Joseph (all out of his own desire in religious ed, with no prompting from his parents).  My heart is full of gratitude for each person in their family.   

Thank You God!  We pray for their safety and blessing as they finish packing and as they travel back home.  Give them courage, hope, perseverance, a strong faith, and love as they live out their beautiful vocations in You.