true friends and dear family

I'm very happy to be picking Aunt Margaret up from the airport this morning. She's been in Tennessee for a few weeks and we have really missed her. For the last several years she's spent much of her time in Florida with Aunt Wanda so when she goes home to Tennessee on occasion there's a great void here where she should be!

I love how we find our places in different circles of friends and family. If we communicate with someone regularly or if she comes into the group for any length of time, and then if we don't hear from her or she goes away, we really notice her absence. Although both my Aunts Margaret and Polly have been in Tennessee we've communicated regularly. If I were not to hear from them for a while I'd definitely feel their absence. Same thing with friends on a trip or vacation. Go away with a group of people for a week and when it's home sweet home and same old, same old again we wonder how our friends are getting along and what they're up to!

We've had this "friend connection" experience many times over the last few years with our mission trips and vacations. Go on a missions trip with a group and you experience situations truly unique to this particular group. You enjoy the specific fun things together as well as deal with specific inconveniences and share spiritual blessings and challenges. So when it's back home every hello is enriched by deep layers of shared experiences in the Lord. Go on a vacation together or work on a project at home and it's the same thing. When the trip or work is done, we miss those with whom we've spent so much time.

I love how our hearts intertwine in the Lord and how relationship builds layer upon layer when we communicate, we work or we live together with our family and friends. We need strong friendships. We need strong family ties. Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto!

Father, Thank you for true friends and dear family. I am truly blessed. I love you.

Suz