Friends

It is our fortieth high school reunion this week and we have house guests coming in from our of town. Bonnie and Mark, we do get to see from time to time...but still it is never enough. And Debbie, O never get to see her....and she is coming in today. All week long I have reminisced about the friendships that we have grown over the years. Seasons change and so do all of us. We go in different directions, move to different cities, pursue different careers....but when it all comes back down to settle....we may have changed in appearance, or in location, and even grown up but the bones of character and personality have stayed in tact....and that is what the friendships are based on. They may be friends of yesteryear ...oh but the memories that we share are priceless. And those memories are what have enhanced our lives, taught us lessons of life, and have been the foundations of experiences that have given us great joy.

It is good to remember....(not good to dwell) on the past....good times or bad..but good to remember...For I believe that almost every experience that we have alters our thinking in one way or another. I look back on the past and see God so clearly in so many of my past events. I know he was involved in all of them...but I also know that until I learned more about the way God works that I didn' t recognize that it was Him working. He worked through the yuk stuff and adversities and the disappointments ..oh but he blessed me with love and lessons and friendships....through all of it.

Just take a minute and reflect on your life....and how God has used your experiences and your friendships to mold you. What has he taught you through them? It is not just about what you have done but how you have handled things, who you have trusted, who were good influences and who were not so good. God has a way of helping us to discern what is good and not so good by giving us an array of experiences and people whose paths we cross to draw upon. We make choices...and when they are good ones then good things result from them...not always in our time line but ultimately in God's. When they are not...then we have a tough time. And those tough times are when we sometimes learn the greatest lessons.
1 John 4:7
[ God's Love and Ours ] Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.


When we go back in years, we look at what was...but now we look at what is....and as believers in Christ look forward with hope as to what is to come. God has been with us through the "was" times and he stands today with us through the "now" times ...and he knows what the "future" holds for each of us. Just as we have grown from then to now God will continue to serve us up trials and adversities and things that delight our heart and give us great joy....as today is yesterdays future. As we continue to learn His lessons, embrace his ways, and enjoy his faithfulness, Christ is growing us ....using the bones of our personality to develop within us character and wisdom and a steadfast belief that all things, be it friendships, experiences and a trusting capacity to seek his will are within our reach...they were there in the past, they are there now and will be there in the future.

I so look forward to being with these friends...for they represent a special season in my life...and it is the seasons that God uses to make our lives complete....the experiences teach us and grow us into being who God has envisioned us to be. We are so many times unaware of how God uses the people and challenges that are before us....to help us to be transformed into a child that he knows has such great potential to make a difference in His kingdom. If we allow Him room to work...God will help us to see Him through all of our seasons. Be watching....for he is working...and if you look close at what has past...you too will be able to see the footprints he has left....for they will be the lessons that all the sudden come up in your thoughts ....and if you trace back where you learned those lessons...there Christ will be.

Dear Lord, How I thank you for dear friends of my past. For they remain heartfelt blessings that I know were gifts from you. Help me to be reminded that relationship are blessings and gifts that you send to each of us as treasures....to enjoy, to learn from, and to enrich our lives. But those friendships are God given, and a reflection of the love that begins with you. Amen
Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!

cjodeit@gmail.com
www.cathyjodeit.com

The blog link below has all devotionals from the beginning of the year:

http://simplygod-cathy.blogspot.com/