I just want to take today to think about my friends. And to be thankful for them. Because without them life would be more difficult, less fun, more lonely and less purposeful. I have got a couple of friends who go way back to the start of secondary school, a good handful who I met at university and then one or two special people who joined my journey in my adult life. Each person holds a part of my history. There are only one or two people outside my close family who remember my stepfather. Those are the people who shared my school experiences. They remember what I was like when I was a teenager and went through lots of teenage angst with me. ( We used to sit and cry to Simon and Garfunkel records and David Bowie's Hunky Dory 😊) They know the town in which I grew up and they spent hours in my house so they know my Mum really well. People who came along after that have a different experience of me. They know the me who had left home. They dont know my family as well, or the place I grew up. But they shared the ups and downs of University life - the parties, the late night philosophical debates, the state of being permanently broke. We did plays together. We walked on the beach endlessly ( St Andrews University) some of them I met at church when I was a baby Christian just setting out - excited but unpredictable and a bit wild! These friends were there as I was becoming an adult - some of the most glorious and difficult of times. 
As we get older I think for most of us making friends becomes more difficult. Certainly each time I have moved to a new location I have found it more difficult to make those significant, deep friendships. I was so blessed when I moved to Edinburgh to find myself sharing a flat with Emma - who subsequently moved with me when I bought my own house. We lived together for several years and , despite being completely different from each other in every conceivable way, formed a heart and soul bond which we each cherish hugely. Added bonus - she ended up marrying one of my besties from Uni 😊
Moving to Northern Ireland was really really hard. I was in my mid thirties and I didnt know anyone. It took me a long time to find some like minded people with whom I clicked and who ' got me'. It was a lonely time. I missed my pals. Whenever I did get to see them it was really bitter sweet. It was amazing to reconnect but it made the parting all the more difficult. But over the years I have made some good friends here - each one is different and none of them share the history that school and Uni friends have with me. But new friends have brought new things into my life. One of them is a worship leader who just ' clicks' with me in worship. And that instantly takes the relationship to depths that it would take years to achieve otherwise. One is a prophetic friend. We have a creative friendship - we paint together and she sparks things off in me which lead to all sorts of artistic happenings. Over here English people tend to gravitate towards each other and I have a lovely friend from Leicester who shares a lot of laughs with me about the oddities of living in Northern Ireland. We make each other laugh and there's something just a teeny bit liberating about being able to be 100% English with her. ( Over here people think Im posh because I have an English accent! )
I wonder what it is that makes a good friend? Why is it that we like some people and just dont gel with others? I think perhaps it has to do with our own willingness to be vulnerable. It has to do with trust. And definitely a shared sense of humour. But at the end of the day I suspect that it is a gift. God knows who we need and when we need them. He puts people across our path at various stages of our lives. Some people are instant soul mates. Others are partners in a venture or helpers for a season. But they are all a gift from our good good Father. I tend to take my friends for granted. Expect that they will always be there, will always be my friends, will never fall out with me or drop dead or drift out of my life. So if you are reading this and I havent told you in a while - I really like you!! Im really glad you are in my life. Knowing you is making me a more complete me. You give me things which only you can give and Im so thankful to God for bringing you across my path in whatever way He did. Even if I dont know you on a deep and meaningful level I still really appreciate your friendship. And Im especially thankful for this internet medium which allows us to keep in touch over time zones and geographical boundaries.
Now go and kiss your friends today and tell them how great they are 😍
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