Thanksgiving Week - Day 7

It is a glorious morning!  I can finally see the blue skies and the sun shining outside!  Sunny days always remind me of friendship.  I especially think of one of my dearest, best, most special friends in the whole-wide world.  She is truly my soul sister, and even though God did not put us in the same place, we have been able to keep our friendship alive and well over more than three decades. 

The reason sunny days remind me of her is because, when we were in school, - I met her when we all went to the Panama Canal College to have a year of intensive English training in preparation for our coming to the United States to go to College, I came to Western PA and she ended up in Nebraska...where we both still are all these many years ago. - At any rate, when we were at PCC, I didn't really have many classes with her because her English was way more advanced than mine, but we were roommates.  Her name is Indy, and she was and continues to be a ray of sunshine in the lives of everyone she meets.  Back then, I knew Indy had been in the classroom, because I would see a big, bright corner drawing of a smiling sun with the caption: The sun is shining outside, written by it on the board. That was Indy's trademark.  Little did I know that the memories of her chalk sunshine would stay with me, bringing me thoughts of thanksgiving for the friends that God has placed in my life.

And that is exactly what I want to offer my gratitude for today: friends.

We are not meant to walk alone through this valley of shadow and sorrow.  That's why the current physical distancing we are facing is so hard…we are not supposed to be isolated! We are the children of a God who is social: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We are created in His image; therefore, we crave the presence of others in our lives.  Loneliness is far too devastating for the soul, the heart, the mind and the body of human beings.  Friends are like angels from heaven who are appointed to us directly from God…and when they are not around, we grieve.

I don’t know what I would do without my friends, my prayer partners, my soul sisters, my steady hands, my counselors, my cheerleaders, my pendulums, my sounding boards, my reality checks, my hiding places, my road companions.  Life would be even harder than it is without friends.  Therefore, today, I want to lift up a big prayer of thanksgiving for the friends God has blessed me with: from the acquaintances who are meant to be with me for a moment, to those who are meant to be with me for a lifetime…I am grateful for each and everyone of them.  In the Precious Name of Jesus, Our Lord, Savior and Dearest of Friends.