I was able to spend the day with a friend I have not seen in 3 years.  I marveled that we were able to take up our conversation almost exactly where we left it off the last time we met.  In these three years we have shared these common events in our lives even though we live 800 miles apart:

• Our job duties and environment changed dramatically.
• We experienced the death of a pet who was important to us.
• We changed automobiles and each chose different qualities of the car as essential in our selection process.
• We are both active in our respective churches even though the churches have each experienced a change in leadership, and we each found that transition process cumbersome.

Sharing our emotions and how we dealt with them in each of these situations showed how much we think alike and also how we took different paths in adjusting to the changes.  We did not compare our paths to see who was “right” and who was “wrong”.  We compared our paths to see what we could learn from the experience of the other.  That is one of the gifts of friendship, the ability to be open and honest with each other knowing the environment in which you share is safe.  When we feel safe in sharing, we are more open to learning.

I hope you are able to have reunions with friends frequently and discover the joy of support that I have written about!