Saturday February 11 2017  DIVINE APPOINTMENT

I am blessed.  I have friends.  Anyone who IS A FRIEND or WHO HAS A FRIEND is truly blessed.  As I travel God always uses my travels to teach me something.  On this trip I realized the value of true friendship.  Some friends I have had for many years and I truly value those friendships.  Other relationships are new and more vulnerable.  But you know what, when God puts a love in your heart for someone it doesn’t matter how long you’ve known them, what matters is that when God connects people the relationship is steadfast.

It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with my friend of many years in Corpus Christi, TX.  When we are together it’s as if we have never been apart.  It is always a bit sorrowful when the times for goodbyes approach even though we know it will happen. I thank God for my friend Lana and the time we shared together.

And even a cousin can be a friend.  Though I have only seen my cousin in Fort Worth a handful of times over the last 30 years, in my heart the childhood friendship we experienced while growing up close together, is still as strong as ever.  I love her with the same intensity I did as a child.  And, when I am with her after years of being separated, it too is as if we haven’t been apart.  I so cherished the short time we had together as I traveled through her area.  But I knew I had to leave her behind once again without knowing if we will ever have a next visit.

A few hours away another friend, a relatively new acquaintance, was awaiting my arrival.  My new friend Marilyn had enough confidence in me to trust that I would swing back by Fort Scott, Kansas to take her home as I had promised.  That’s what friends do; when they promise, they follow through. 

Sometimes circumstances necessitate friends moving away.  But I have found that the friendship lives within my heart and does not ever leave.  And when needed, God walks another friendship into our lives.  And if two are meant to be friends you can count on God to make it happen.  And I don’t consider such meetings as “accidental” but rather as “divine appointments”.  It seems as if my entire life has been peppered with such events.  After all, I had to go to Aldi’s Food Market to meet Marilyn.  And, I realize I am blessed to call her friend.    

FRIENDSHIP TAKES TIME TO GROW

Kathleen Martens

February 11, 2017

www.visionsofpoetry.com

A friend is such a valuable asset,

One not to be taken for granted.

So cultivate the friends you have

And water where you are planted.

And be thankful for the new,

And remember you are new to them.

Allow your friends to blossom

That they become a treasured gem.

Speak gentle words of encouragement,

And listen more than you talk.

Friends often grow in sweet silence

As you become each other’s rock.

Speak admonition when it’s needed,

Words of love from your heart.

And if your friend receives it,

Your friendship will not part.

A friend is one who cares for you

And will be there in time of need.

Remember friendship takes time to grow,

So together plant your seed.

Thank You God for bringing to me the friends I have always needed.

Thank You God for allowing me to be a friend to another.

Thank You Lord that You are the greatest Friend of all.

GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS YOU!