Friday, September 16, 2011

The Values Of Friendships ~


I truly value friendships. I know that the one person I can rely on in my life is my dear husband; he is my best friend in every way. We have gone through many experiences of life and have weathered the storms and will continue to do so. We both have faith and a deep abiding love for our Savior, Jesus Christ. I view my Savior as my brother and my eternal friend. I do not know what I would do if I couldn't kneel in prayer to my Heavenly Father and know that my Savior walks with me through my life experiences.
However, I do think as woman we need good female friends. I can say that I have many good friendships that I treasure. I find it interesting that some friends you just feel an eternal bond with them. It feels like you were indeed sisters in heaven. These kind of friendships are lasting through out the good and the bad. These kinds of friends you can share your life with and you know that you will not ever be judged. You know that these friends are forever friends.
I have more to say; so I am not doing this 5 minutes exactly right!
We have moved several times through the years and have lived in 4 different states. In all of these areas I have formed forever friendships.
I have a friend here in the area we now live, that is an eternal friend. I know that we were sisters in heaven and that we knew each other well. We have the kind of friendship that will last through all of the ups and downs of life. Although we both have busy lives; we can always call one another when there is a need or just to talk for fun. 
Today I had a delightful lunch with four friends from Jr. High. We have so many memories that tie us together and we had a good time laughing and enjoying the moments of today. Each of these dear sisters are my sister in every sense of the word. We are forever friends. I lived away from them all for many years and it has been such a joy to reconnect with them. It was just as if we  had never been apart. We each shared today our joys and our pain and we each left feeling better for having been together for just a few hours. We laughed and talked a mile a minute and I am sure the waitress was very relieved when we left. I want to thank my Heavenly Father for such wonderful and devoted friends.
Just this week I read an article on the importance of women having friend in their lives. In fact it has been proven that have a good friend or many friends can and should be part of a healthy lifestyle. Having good friends can improve our life and perhaps even extend it. Another thing that is important to health and well being is to laugh a lot . Laughing causes the endorphins and serotonin to increase and therefore it improves our sense of well being and is very good for our health. We all need to laugh more and it is so much easier to find things to laugh about when you are with good friends.
I love this quote by Elder Maxwell:
..."We sometimes overlook: the intertwining of our lives. I acknowledge the Lord's hand in these intersections.....One of the reasons we love each other in the kingdom is that our friendships are not friendships of initiation at all but are, instead, friendships of resumption!
Each of us has circles of friendships, and within those lie the portion of the human family whom God has given us to love, to serve, and to learn from.
You and I may call these intersections 'conincidence.' This word is understandable for mortals to use, but coincidence in not an appropriate word to describe the workings of an omniscient God. He does not do things by 'conincidence' but instead by
'devine desigh' ". -Elder Maxwell, "Brim with Joy" BYU Speeches, 1995-96
Thanks to all my dear friends for being a true sister to me. I enjoyed laughing, visiting, reminiscing and sharing our lives together today. Bless you all for improving my health for a few precious moments today. Love to all of my friends even in the blogging world. I know that we are all sisters and I find myself on a daily basis crying over your hurts and sharing in your joy. Love to you all!

The gift of friends!
. A sweet lunch with friends
. A call from a friend
. A listening friend
. A giving friend
. A wise friend
. A patient friend
. A kind and loving friend
. A moment with a friend
. A trusting friend
. A friend to laugh with


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so grateful to have you as a friend mom:) I love you and I am so glad you had a fun time today!

Hugs and kisses!!

Susan Anderson said...

Friends are wonderful, aren't they? And I'm sure you are a wonderful friend to many.

=)

The Adventurer said...

I couldn't agree more. Friends, good friends can be so very special and supportive. So glad you have true good friends surrounding you. You are very blessed:)

Unknown said...

LeAnn, you are such a wonderful person. I wanted to do something special for you and hope you will contact me by email, lynda(dot)schultz(at)ymail(dot)com.

I would like to show my appreciation for your support and friendship.

Grammy Staffy said...

Hello dear LeAnn. It is wonderful to have sweet friends. I don't know how I would have survived our accident if it had not been for the love and prayers of friends. Friends are such a blessing.... both blog friends and friends we know in person support us.
I value you as a blog friend.... I hope that some day soon I can meet you in person. I am going on a cruise Monday. I am not really up to it but I booked this for a group of 10 of our friends over a year ago. I am sure that I will enjoy it once I am on the ship with my friends. I will be in touch when I get back. Maybe after your mission we could cruise together and we could visit for days. Hugs, Lura

Cheryl @ TFD said...

Hi LeAnn, wonderful post! I'm happy to read about your visit with friends. Friends are truly a blessing. I really appreciate your sweet comments at my blog. Blessings to you! ~Cheryl

Marie Rayner said...

That is one thing that I miss over here. A real friend. I have not had a real life friend for many years. When I was married before I couldn't allow myself to get close to anyone because I could not really open up to anyone. I had to hold a piece of me back because of the abuse in my marriage. Now . . . well, I do have friends, but they all live far away. I wish I had one that lived closer. xxoo

singing/granny said...

Once again you have written to my heart! I agree that friendships are important...especially with our spouses! How dull and difficult life would be without them! Thanks LeAnn! Melody

Pitterle Postings said...

I love these thoughts. You are so right. We moved five years ago, and it is the first place I have ever lived where friends are hard to make. I am working on it, I need it, and I recognize that there is just something about having sisters around who love me and accept me. Friends can be an amazing and wonderful support group.