December 15 Martha's Musings

The Christmas Season tends to make us reflect on our many blessings. Fortunately for most of us, it can be hard to focus on just one particular blessing. But I am going to give it a whirl. My Heavenly Father has blessed me with a plethora of friends. I have old friends, new friends, friends from high school, friends from college, friends from the church in Irving where I grew up, friends from my various places of employment, friends that I met while volunteering, friends that belong to the same social groups (like Sunday School and PIP) that I belong to, other friends from St. John’s, friends I made because they first were Hubby’s friends, etc. You get the picture. I recently had a birthday and received 7 (SEVEN!) birthday cards from various friends, a couple of which were from groups with multiple signatures. All of these precious cards are on our fireplace mantle, skooched in between the Christmas décor. In our home, that placement has meaning. If it is on the mantle, it matters to the homeowners. It overwhelms me that not only are these great people friends of mine, they took the time to tell me so. And that is no small thing. Friendship takes time to develop, which makes sense, since they require care, respect, and actually knowing the person you are befriending. God made mankind to live in peace and harmony with one another, and that simply cannot be achieved without friendship. It is hard to be angry at the person from whom you borrowed a cup of sugar the day before. We depend on one another, which is also what God created us to do. Recall the statement “No man is an island”, a quote from the English poet John Donne. These five words create a literary
picture of what the world is supposed to look like. So, I give thanks today to my God who gave these wonderful friends to me. Yet another gift that I do not deserve.