Thoughts on Friendship I

What's the best type of ship? friendships! haha.. For some reason ive been thinking about friendships a lot lately. Imagine life without friendships. Doesn't it seem empty? Can we really grow without relationships in our life? i think we're meant to grow in community and in godly friendships. Over the last few years, if there's one thing i learned, it's the importance of a strong support system. We need to surround ourselves around good people and share life together. We're not meant to go through this life alone and isolated. God created us for relationships.

Reflecting on my home of origin and growing up, i feel like i was fortunate to always be surrounded by friends.  Maybe not a lot of friends, jus close ones that were always there. I don't think i realized how much i valued being around friends. It's inevitable that we'll lose a lot of friends throughout this life. We'll grow distant and lose contact, it's a sad fact of life. 

I remember hating the fact that i would lose my friends transitioning from 6th to 7th grade. There's still a small handful of them that I still know, but for the most part we loss touch. Even though we'll lose a lot of great friendships as we grow older, we can always move towards making new friends. I still remember high school as some of the best days in my life. Attending a small school made it easier to make close friendships. We'd laugh about everything. Many friendships weakened over the years, but I was able to preserve a good core of friends till this day.

College i made some new friends. Most of them were solid Christians that encouraged my faith. But i feel like i lost most of them. Church was a place to make friendships, but then i moved up to CA. In seminary i made some strong friendships, but the bulk of people are just really busy with their own things. Being apart of a church family creates close friendships, but separating really hurts. Now i'll be moving back to HI and probably lose more friends. I have a fear of losing friends. So i guess that's why this is on my mind so much. I fear losing good friends. it's rare finding good friends, friends that understand you and are easy to talk to. A lot of friends in hawaii moved away, or moved on to other things. It's almost like starting from scratch again.

You ever ask yourself. "Who's really there for me?" And we may have some friends, and our family is always there. But sometimes it doesn't feel like you're surrounded in community the way who'd hope or expect. This is why i think it's crucial to invest ourselves in church ministry. It'll be nice to settle down and not hop around everywhere. I feel like friendships get really strained by distance. But the true friendships can overcome distance and the busyness of life. Can you imagine back in the days when there wasn't even internet and cell phones? i think friends can survive on just occasional communication, but really wouldn't it be nice if we got to physically spend more time with the people we care about and enjoy most?

I remember one time i asked my dad, "How do you cope with losing friends?" He said, "Well you fight for the friends you want to keep in your life. And you also make new friends as well." Who are the people you would fight for? and who are the people who would fight for you?

True friendship must be mutual and balanced. Friendships should be positive and bring comfort. I believe true friends can endure hardships and overcome conflict. True friends can forgive each other and see past all the ugliness. I don't think true friends can really stay mad or irritated at each other for too long. Friends are people we can trust, respect and feel comfortable around. We can share our secrets, our personal lives, and be real with each other. Friends are people we could call anytime. Friends support and defend each other. True friends can stab us in the front and correct us when we're being dumb or obnoxious. True friends will encourage us towards seeking God and glorifying him. True friends will sacrifice themselves to offer care. True friends are the ones that really understand you. True friends are the ones you can laugh about inside jokes with. True friends are the ones who really know you, get you, and accept you even when you're weird. True friends are the ones you can play video games or basketball with. True friends are the ones who'll buy ya dinner and share their snacks. True friends are ones where you can go open their fridge and basically eat whatever you want, lol.

When you think about it. Don't you wanna marry your best friend? I mean opposite gender of course. But isn't partnership and companionship founded on a close friendship first? I think one of the reasons our culture is so obsessed with just finding a romantic relationship to make us happy is because we really aren't connected into deep fellowship and community.

 The early first century church saw their spiritual siblings as their closest relationships. The church depended on their brothers and sisters for fostering their relational needs. Now days we prioritize and expect the person we marry to fulfill all our relational needs. It sets us up for failure, and we idolize romantic love as something that will magically make us whole, when the truth is that we need God and community.I think the early church spent a lot of time together. It was on them to proclaim the gospel to other nations. But we see that they constantly met for the teaching of God's word, they broke bread together and basically lived with each other. If anyone needed anything, people would go out of their way to give.

Some people can be part of a community or church, but still feel alone. How can we promote the church body to be inclusive of everyone? How do we really form strong friendships who support each other? Even at churches, i see people who are just plain left out or misunderstood. I think we've all felt out of place in a group before. What would a church look like if everyone was committed to worshiping God and being a part of the church fellowship? Apart from God we can do nothing, and apart from community we become weak. Virtues and the fruits of the spirit are fostered and practiced within community. I think God is three in one so that God shares perfect unity and love even within the trinity.

I guess i used to think i could take care of myself and become somewhat spiritually healthy on my own. But i'm beginning to see how our relational health plays a big role in our emotional, mental and spiritual health. When we surround ourselves with brothers and sisters in Christ, isn't it easier to come before God in worship? God calls us to to not give up meeting with each other, and to spur each other towards love and good deeds. We need community, we need friendships, and we also need to be there for others as well.

you ever feel really sad for the elderly that live alone by themselves day after day? I know some older folks who don't have much family or friends. Sometimes i find myself only concerned with the people and friends i know, but God is also challenging me to reach out and be more others minded with those i don't know. As i grow older, i see that relationships are the things i want to protect, invest, and value. In the kingdom of heaven, i'm not only excited we get to have perfect fellowship with God, but also that we'll have perfect unity and fellowship with the church. I can hear the loud praises or everyone singing glory, honor and praise to our King.

idk why im blogging all this, im avoiding doing a 12 pg paper about hebrew stuff. gahh.. i have trouble jus starting.. i could use an energy drink. i dont like how school is basically sitting in a chair all day. my back and neck have been sore for about a month. if i were professor i'd assign them to draw pictures, listen to lots of music of their choice, go exercise, play a sport, practice cooking, and to pray or something. but no, they teach you greek and hebrew which have no value in life. lol im jus salty and dont wanna do hw