We often do not know just how thirsty we are until we have quenched our thirst. The same can be true for friendships. We don’t often recognize the deep value of friendships until they change. I have been abundantly blessed with rich friendships over time and I am so very grateful.  However, I’ve entered a season of life that lessened the likelihood of seeing some of my closest friends regularly. I now know anew just how special those relationships were/are.  The relationships have not ended, but they do look different.  It is in this new season that I have reflected on these relationships the Lord has given me over time. He was generous to me as a teen, young adult, young wife and mom, and even now in this season as a middle-ager!  I’ve had a deep, deep well from which to drink.

A blog post could not possibly individually describe all the rich relationships from the last thirty years. I will describe but a few. I remember my high school chemistry teacher.  She was a deep well.  During our morning breaks, she would gather with anyone interested to sing and pray together. We called ourselves the CIA, Christians in Action. She taught me to never compromise what I believed, wherever life takes me. As a former CIA member, I went into adulthood holding strong to my convictions. That still rings true of me. I see her fingerprint.   I am blessed to have known her.

A friend of twenty-plus years continued to encourage me to stay true to me. She and I share many of the same passions and we have spent the years spurring each other on in those convictions. She has modeled integrity, grit, loyalty, desire for justice and an unwavering faith. I continue to learn from her and I am so very grateful for her friendship.

My friends are varied in temperaments and each lady models so many things. The variety has enriched my life! I have learned many lessons.   For example, I have seen hospitality practiced in the richest of ways. I think of two friends who have loved me well over a meal.  Multiple meals, that is!  They love to “love” you through food and I love to receive love that way! They teach me to share and to bless others. They give deeply from their hearts. They’ve proven to be great vacation buddies as well!  I have friends that offer few words, but speak volumes when they do speak. So, while the texts and emails are few, the words shared and the sense of loyalty runs deep. From them, I learn steadiness, warmth, and consistency. I can easily pick up from where I left off when I see them after a long while. That is one of life’s sweetest gifts.

I’ve been blessed with women who will speak the truth in love to me. One woman and one truth stand out. The one “truth” was for me to smile when I am most overwhelmed. She’s seen me with a workload to the moon and back.  Knowing I wear my emotions on my sleeve, she often stood in close proximity to me, reminding me to smile. I can still hear the whispers and see the “smile” hand motion.  I am still working on that!  That will probably be true until the end of my life! Then there’s the relationship that is simply sweet because we love each other and enjoy time together. We’ve shared many lunches. It is in those times that I learn loyalty to family, dedication as a mother and the commitments of grandmothers to their grandkids.

I could continue to name the lessons, but will end with two more. I think of the three friends in particular who have taught me to be tough. They call me to balance seeing good in everyone with not being naïve and miss the times when I need to defend myself. They call it backbone! I thought I was a fireball, but compared to them, I am merely a match! They love me enough to challenge me to do the hard things.

I hope you have a rich circle as I do. I also hope you are aligned with older women who are speaking into your life. It’s in those relationships we learn about life from their experiences. They have done the “on the job training” and can offer much advice. Often they have had a much longer walk with the Lord than us and can offer wise spiritual counsel. Some of life’s most important lessons have been learned at the kitchen table of an older woman.

I have been abundantly blessed. The fingerprints of these women are engraved into my heart. I sure hope you have wells of wisdom to draw from.