garden friends…part 3…

how can we find true friendship in this often phony, temporary world? how can we recognize potential friendship? recently i’ve revisited my “garden friends” post and again thought of those friends i considered garden worthy…i’ve relized that even though i thought i had an abundance of garden friends, i really have only a select handful…

how i view friendships
i find myself guilty of the same thing, over and over again, in my friendships…i get caught up in the newness and excitement of the friendship…caught up in how much i love surrounding myself with the warm energy of friendships…how much i love having that “sisterhood bond” with other women….i believe every word that drips from their mouth…i pour my heart into the friendship, never questioning the motives of the other person…i mean, surely, they feel the same way about it as i do right?

the price of trusting
i hate to say i’ve paid a price but, in all fairness, i have…i’ve trusted that the friend and i were on the same level…that we both felt the exact same way about our friendship…and then the bombshell hits…they never were a “garden friend”…they were more of a “fair weather friend”…faithfulness and loyalty are key to true friendship. without them, we feel betrayed, left out, and lonely. in true friendship there is no turning away.

true friendship
genuine friendship loves for love’s sake, not just for what it can get in return. true friendship involves action…doing something for someone else while expecting nothing in return.  that is rare these days.  a true friendship also includes sharing thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or negativity.  i know there have been many times i’ve told one of my good friends something i’ve done, and i was so thankful they didn’t judge me.  a genuine friendship involves a shared sense of caring and concern, a desire to see one another grow and develop, and a hope for each other to succeed in all aspects of life.  there is no jealousy in a genuine friendship.  friends are to be dependable. in true friendship, unconditional love develops. we love our friends no matter what and we always want the best for our friends.

i understand that relationships in real life involve different levels of friendships, and that’s okay with me. as long as i know what level of friendship i have. humans are designed by God for lasting relationships. it seems so often our society offers only vague, empty relationships. God wants us to have friends here on earth!

i am SO SO thankful for the few true friends I have…and if your reading this, you know who you are…thank you for coming into my garden and letting me lay down my heart to you time and time again…for knowing when i was vulnerable…knowing when i needed to vent and when i needed a hug…thank you for being you…thank you for never putting on airs and pretending to be someone you weren’t…thank you for never abandoning me and turning away…thank you for giving me a lifelong lasting relationship that I value to the ends of the earth…

out for now
~kisses