More than 30 years ago, God called some girls from all across America to volunteer at a nursing home in Arkansas. Living together, working together, playing together, worshiping together... makes you become one big family. Naturally you can't get that many girls in a dorm without the occasional "cat fight", but overall we developed solid friendships.
The thing that sets us apart from other Hillcrest alumni is that we still get together regularly. At least once a year, if not twice. (Not counting the unofficial times a few of us congregate here or there.) Our friendships have deepened as we support each other through hard things that life throws our way- cancer, accidents [several of us have almost become widows], seizures, divorce, deaths, etc. We are a very tightknit group! We always laugh till our sides ache, cry and pray together. What we have is special.
And squeeze in as many trips to the new café -owned by one of us- as we possibly could...
We managed to pull off our 2nd annual Diner en Blanc, too. It was fabulous!
Reportedly the number of Americans who have no friends has quadrupled since 1990 (when we did VS together) and 20% of the population of certain European countries feel lonely. I read that in Japan, some elderly folks have resorted to crime so they can have the companionship of inmates in jail. Entrepreneurs have come up with the solution to this loneliness epidemic- Rent-a-Friend. You can hire a "friend" by the hour to meet you at a café to talk or attend a party with you.
Ecclesiastes 4:12 says that a cord of 3 strands isn't quickly broken. But neither is it quickly woven. True friends can't be rented and it takes time to form deep friendships. With God as our 3rd strand, friendships can be tightly woven, to stand the test of time and distance. I'm forever grateful that I have that in this group! Grateful to God for calling me to service with these ladies in particular, grateful to them for accepting & including me. 💕
4 comments:
Amen, Cheryl! Amen! Love this! ❤️
You hit the nail on the head .. thanks Cheryl!
This made me cry. Im so thankful for everyone of you❤
People without friends are obviously missing the valuable connection of a church family. I cannot imagine life without a church family.
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