From my archives…

When you look at an ordinary object in an unordinary way you see it differently. I noticed how beautiful the female song birds were this year when I took time to really look at them. The males automatically draw your eyes because their featherings are so dramatic compared to the females. The myriad of colors on female bird feathers are so pretty, the different tones of light and dark. The colors melding into each other. God actually spent more time painting the females’ feathers. He had to wash his watercolor brush many times. Just took a big swipe of color on his brush for the males.

We don’t need to look at life with a magnifying glass to see all the beauty that’s right before our eyes. We always see the bigger picture but sometimes we need to focus closer. We don’t have time to see the bumble bees’ flight, the beauty of the tiny wild violets, the myriad of colors in the sunsets and sunrises. We just need to look, really look, and we can find the beauty in everyday life that surrounds us. It’s right before our eyes.

Just got off the phone from talking with my dearest friend. We have been friends for over 40 years. So I’m the thinking about friendship tonight. We know many people in our lifetimes but not all of them are devoted friends. Friendship is mutual affection and trust between two people. You know you can trust your friends to show up when you need them because they’ve proved in the past that they’ll show up. You feel safe and comfortable with friends. My husband and I had a wonderful friendship that lead to a loving, happy marriage. True friendship is a gift from God.

I think one of the most meaningful benefits of having a close friend is you can pour your heart out without worrying about being judged. Friends listen with their hearts. They are nonjudgmental. They might encourage you to walk down a different path but they’re not going to drag you down that path. Friends share our pain and hold our hands in moments of grief. Friends are dependable and loyal. They love us unconditionally. They cheer us up. We just feel better spending time with them.

I’m fortunate in my friendships. Most of my friends have a great sense of humor that leads to lots of laughter. When my dearest friend spends the weekend with me we wear matching pajamas, snack ourselves to death, and laugh our heads off. We’ve both weathered storms in our marriages and families and have held each others hands in grief. But we can always manage to find something to make us smile and something to make us laugh.

True friendship is a gift from God. Love this quote and I think it describes friendship perfectly.

“When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.” —Unknown.