Topic: Friendship
Having lived here for only 8 weeks now, I haven’t really had the time to invest in very deep friendships yet. I feel close to some people here, but a close, trusting friendship takes time, although some people you can know for a long time and never feel very close to them. Don’t you love it when a new friendship just ‘clicks’? After we had been here only a few weeks, a woman I only slightly knew heard me say that I really needed to start walking every day. She said she lived pretty close to me and she would walk with me. I was excited to have a walking partner all of a sudden and also a bit nervous to make that kind of daily commitment to spending time with someone I barely knew….so we settled on walking 3 days a week.From the first day, we hit it off well. Cheryl and I walk about 45 minutes and just set off with no route in mind or pace to follow. We just go along and feel in sync, like we’d always been doing it. We talk and talk….about life, about the church, our families, marriage (she and her husband have been teaching in a marriage group for years and years, so I learn a lot from her!), food, places we’ve lived, our families growing up, dogs, about the yards we pass by and good paint colors for houses.
One day we were walking in my neighborhood, which is all winding streets, like a maze, no direct routes. I was getting a little tired and I asked Cheryl how long we’d been walking. It was over an hour! We had totally lost track of time and we were not close to my house either. All of a sudden our legs ached and our heads were hot and we were thirsty! Neither of us had our cell phones or I joked that I was going to call my husband to come pick us up….except we didn’t know how to tell him where we were! Don’t worry, we finally did make it back after deciding to keep heading east and north. =) (I was a girl scout after all) We got back and had a long, tall glass of ice water while we talked some more. Our 3 days a week has turned into every weekday now and when she’s gone out of town, we miss the time together! I had to go up to her on Sunday after not seeing her for 3 days, due to appointments and say, “I miss you!” It was funny, but it is such a blessing to have what I consider a real friend now in such a short time. An encouraging, kindred spirit….and the exercise has been great too! We’re starting to compare how our clothes fit better and better.
Ephesians 4:10 ….pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!
……or the woman who exercises and has no one to laugh with!
Amen?
