Grace

In life, so many things are unsure. Health. Tax credits. Job security. Gas prices (!!!!). Pant size.

From day to day, life changes. It can be a little unsettling, can't it?

People are one of those unsteady things. Don't get offended! I'm no Rock of Gibraltar, either. We're all in this together.

Do you remember way back in grade school, when you had to write that paragraph about being a good friend? It was the day after Joe and Bonnie got in a fistfight during art class. Remember?

In 3rd grade, you wrote, "A good friend is nice. A good friend can keep up with you at recess. A good friend shares his chocolate at lunch." (And then you thought, "Shoot, I don't have any friends.")

Back then, you didn't know about lifetime friends, what it takes to stick with people through the bumps of growing up. You were mostly thinking about recess and lunch.

But now you're a little older, and if you've been gifted with a lifelong friend, you know this: Friendship isn't all about nice, or quick. Sharing chocolate, definitely. . . but it's more than that. Lasting friendships require honesty. Trust. Faithfulness. Support. Laughter (especially at yourselves).

And most importantly, lifetime friendships extend grace. Grace. Not the sort of grace ballerinas have -- luckily for me. Friendship offers grace that says, "No matter what, no matter where, no matter when, I'm here for you; I understand, and I'm for you." Grace makes us flexible, warm, true friends through the changing seasons of life.

Do you have a gracious friend? I do, and what a gift she is. Someday we'll be ancient together, laughing at our great-great-great-grandkids.

But we're not quite there yet.

Happy birthday, GraceFriend!

Looking back and forward,
Becki~