Old Friends

Old Friends

How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!

I’ve known Lindsay for as long as I can remember. Growing up, we lived next door to each other. With just a year between us, we quickly became inseparable. In fact, a lot of my early memories involve Lindsay: the snow tunnels her dad engineered, the celery her mom always added to our lunches. How, whenever we played post office or school, her fake name was always Jenny and mine was Judy. When I moved several hours away at the age of ten, I’d still get to see Lindsay a few times a year when she visited her grandmother. We had a fun girls’ weekend in college, were part of each other’s weddings, and birthed our oldest children just a few months apart.

What I love best is the ease of our friendship. Not that we’ve never had disagreements—I remember epic battles over Barbies in which I showed a lot of maturity by stomping out of her house—but, overall, it’s an easy relationship. I think it’s because she accepts me, just as I am, and I do the same for her. Although we have different temperaments, parenting styles, and giftings, each of us recognizes the good things about the other person instead of subtly trying to compare.

The last time Lindsay visited, I enlisted her help in preparing goodie bags for an event, stopping only to make a late-night custard dash to Culver’s. At first, she complained good-naturedly about getting roped into a chore, but then she proceeded to tirelessly spend hours helping me finish the bags. The strength of our long friendship meant that there was no need for me to apologize for asking her to do a thankless task and for grabbing fast food rather than wining and dining her during her visit. Instead, the pleasure of our mutual company provided all the fun we required.

As friends, we find our sweet spot when we learn how to live in harmony with one another, as the Psalms suggest. In a world of constant criticism and comparison, may we always be friends who choose to see the best in others and in ourselves. Only then will we find true ease in friendship.

— Kristin

— Today’s Act of Friendship —

Call or message an old friend today, someone who accepts you for who you are. Thank them for their friendship.