Friendship

If one falls down, his friend can help him up.

But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Ecclesiastes 4:10

(c) M Pruitt 2008
for sale on Etsy

I've been thinking about friendship a lot lately. Being so isolated due to my illness has changed the the way I can relate to my friends and the type of friendship I can have. But it hasn't changed the fact that I need friends. And it hasn't changed the fact that I have friends.

But the friendships have changed.

I have new friends - very close friends - though we only talk over the internet and never meet face to face (well... I met one face to face last year! ) :-) Some, are sick like me so we can go a long time without talking depending on how each of us is doing physically, but when we do get back to our emails and chat - we pick up right from where we left off.

Some of my new online friends are artists, some are Christians, and some are both. Some are older than me, many are my own generation, and some are much younger than me! None of these friends are stuck at home, in a relciner chair like me, but we network, and chat and have a good time together! Sometimes they get busy and we don't talk for quite a while, but when we do get back to our emails and chat - we pick up from where we left off too!

Some friends loyally send me mail. Some say "Hi" on MySpace and Facebook. Some call me and tell me they will be out and about today and ask if I need anything from this or that store. One friend brought a whole teatime to me! Some email me pictures of their ultrasounds, some buy my art, some leave me messages here on my blog.

The other day, a friend did something unexpected and very touching. In the middle of a busy room, she detected my distress as I tried to act normal going through the process of my parental responsibilities. She quietly walked up from behind, and whispered "It doesn't look like you're doing very well today." I tearfully admitted I wasn't. She didn't say anything, but quietly bowed her head and softly prayed for me. Then she went on with her work. I was deeply touched.

Many of my friends write me emails and ask for prayer or advice. I love that. Friends share their good news and their bad news. Friends serve each other - in whatever ways they can. Friends recognize the efforts of the other - even when it falls short of what they had hoped for. Friendship is giving and receiving!

And distance - either time or physical - never destroys friendship. I have a friend who is very near and dear to my heart, but she and I haven't spoken in, probably two years. Not because of problems, but just because of our life's circumstances. I sent her an email the other day, and immediately, we were back to the same friendship we'd enjoyed years before!

No matter what... a friend is a friend forever! Friendships may have huge times of separation, or change as life changes - but a true friend is always a friend!

To all my friends from long past days - friends I haven't talked to in a long time - to my newest online friends, I want you to know that I love you and value your friendship and the memories we share.

This piece of art I created this weekend is dedicated to you!

Light vs. Dark

I looked out my bedroom window and saw this gorgeous moon, sitting upon golden glowing clouds with the silhouette of branches. It stuck in my mind for days until I just had to try and paint it.

It's a very representational piece to me. The brightness of the moon casting a new light - a golden light upon the darkness... the two foreground trees creating a cross...

Jesus is that light in my, sometimes very dark, world. I'm thankful for the physical and natural reminders I have of this truth.

It reminds me again of the words to that David Crowder song "Stars" - here's just the first verse:

You should see the stars tonight
how they shimmer shine so bright
against the black they look so white
comin down from such a height
to reach me now, reach me now

you should see the moon in the flight
cuttin cross the misty night
softly dancin in sunshine
reflections of this light
reach me now, you reach me now

and how could such a thing
shine its light on me
and make everything beautiful again

God makes things beautiful again - even when they are dark and lifeless and scary.

I was talking to Bill last night about how badly we want me to be healed. But even more than being healed I want to be a person who reflects HIS beauty and shines beautifully, even in the darkness of life. That's what I really want most.

Right now, that darkness is my illness. I haven't had much to post. Haven't done too much in the past month - except I've tried to take each day as it comes, I try to bring joy and light to anyone God brings into my little world. It may look and feel dark, but his light shines on me and makes my life beautiful... again.

Pray that I will bask in his light, that I will shine in reflection and that I won't let the darkness around me frighten me, but instead - keep my eyes on his beautiful light.