You Gotta Have Friends

After procrastinating for almost two weeks, I finally took the time to call my very dear friend, Debbie, who lives with her amazing husband and six terrific kids in a wonderful house settled in the picturesque Steilacoom, Washington. She and I haven't talked for probably a year, so we had some major catching up to do! What followed after she picked her phone up (thankfully; I thought she may not after I took so long) was an almost 3 hour long conversation filled with much laughter, oohs and ahs about how our respective kids are doing, and a bit of seriousness too. After finally hanging up, my heart was so full of gratefulness and love for our friendship that it has affected the rest of my day in a very positive way.

Virgin Martyrs- companions of Saint Ursula

Many of the great saints have had friends who were an integral part of their faith and their lives. Saints Perpetua and Felicity; Saints Francis and Clare; Saints Issac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf and Companions; & Saints Paul Miki and Companions are just some of these. Of course, these saints were really holy people (as Josh would say, "That's why they're saints!"), so they took their friendships seriously. 

As I get closer to turning 50 49 next month, I am realizing how important it is to not only have good friends, but to be sure to stay caught up with each others' lives. These saints have inspired me to start taking my friendships a bit more seriously. I guess I've now said it, so my friends better be ready for me to work better on staying connected. When I tell a friend, "We need to get together for coffee.", I need to get out the calendar and pick a date instead of saying we'll do it, "when we've got some free time". It may be difficult at first, but I think once we actually do it, getting together will come a bit more easily.

As GK Chesterton said,“Because our expression is imperfect we need friendship to fill up the imperfections.” So do whatever it takes to get together with your friends. If they live far away, call, video chat, write an email or letter~ do something to stay caught up in their lives. As Donkey from shares with Shrek, "You gotta have friends!"