To be honest, when we moved down here to South Carolina, I felt like a piece of me died. I've moved around my whole life as a military brat, never living in the same town for more than four years. I went to nine or ten schools before I graduated from High School, and I have ONE friend that I've known my entire life. We don't even keep up regularly, but I hold that friendship near and dear because it's the only one I've had my ENTIRE life. Every time we would move as a child, my mom would sing this song:
"Make new friends, but keep the old...
Some are silver, and the others gold..."I lived in this little Pennsylvania farm town for six years before moving here. I knew almost everyone in that town. I had hundreds of their high school kids in my house every week. If there was a ball game, I was there. I knew a lot of people at our large church, and they knew me. They were the kind of people who knew me AND all that was going on in my life...the kind of people who would jump at the chance to help if I needed it.
I've almost lived here for two years now. I don't have that here. Don't get me wrong, I HAVE some friends here. I know that friendships take forever to build, and that you have to go through UPS and DOWNS and make it through conflicts, sad times and good times and come out on the other side of all those victorious in order to have one of those "golden friendships."
And, then there are those friendships that seem like they could be those "golden friendships" that somehow don't make it. That's enough to make your soul give in.
So, I did a little study on "soul." The little "S" soul. The part of ourselves that is the very innermost room of our temple. My dear friend is planning a retreat in May for adoptive and foster moms, of which I will be the speaker. I'm a little bit terrified, if I'm being real. I mean, I've never written a book. I don't have a radio show. I'm not a pastor's wife. I'm just a mom...an adoptive mom, who will hopefully encourage these moms to go home and mother in victory! My friend is entitling this retreat "RESTORE." I asked her if she had a particular verse in mind when she named it that, and she said Psalm 51:10:
"God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life." The Message
I love the Message version the best. "GENESIS" means "In the Beginning." I need that. I need a fresh start. I need new friendships...the kinds that will redeem the last two years and become beautiful, shining gold. My soul needs that. I need real and true. I need transparent. I need friends who will see through the facade and know that I actually am NOT having a good day through the smile. I need people who will gently restore me when I mess up. I need people who are humble enough to apologize when they mess up, and I promise to do the same. I need a Kristin.
I know, I know. I HAVE the Kristin, but she's not here. I can't go have coffee with her when my spirit hurts. I can't give her a hug or take Micah off her hands so she can sit...SIT...for two hours. We can't go play in the creek with all our kids. She's the silver friend. Our friendship has been refined by God like silver (Psalm 66: 10). We've been heated up, melted down, dross removed. Together we shine like silver. But, the three wise men bowed down and offered up GOLD to the newborn baby Jesus (Matthew 2:11). If silver were more valuable than gold, they would have offered THAT up. Gold is a gift fit for a king, and that is what we are gifted when a friendship passes through the silver phase and moves into the gold. She's the gold friend, too.
So, I pray that I will have friendships of silver...AND gold...right here in Lake Wylie. Heck, I'd even settle for Belmont, Rock Hill or Charlotte.
But, I thank God for my friendship of gold.
Grace and Peace~
Kelly
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