Fellowship

We have been blessed with those that are

Running this Race by our side.

They have been called to run with us

for a Reason, Season, or a Lifetime.

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

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When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a Godsend, and they are! They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on you part, or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered. And now it is time to move on.

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Then people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They bring you an experience of peace, or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real! But, only for a season.

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LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons: things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. - Anonymous

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Friends inspire "The-Best-Version-of-Ourselves"

The following has been taken from excerpts of a book by Matthew Kelly that a good friend has shared with me. For those of you reading this, thank you for being a true friend on this journey, walking (and running :) with me One Step at a Time! I think this sums it up nicely:

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There is nothing more valuable in this life than a good friendship.

"If you find five true friends in your lifetime,

you will have lived a life infinitely blessed."

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As I look at my life, there are certain people who I yearn to spend time with. I love being around people who are constantly striving to better themselves. They energize me. They inspire me. They challenge me. They make me want to be a better person. This is true friendship. A true friend brings the best out of their friends.

For this reason, when I have time to spend with friends, I try to surround myself with people who make me want to be a better person. I admit they are not easy to find, but when you do find them, they are more precious than any treasure or pleasure this world has to offer. If you want a litmus test for choosing friends, use this question: Will spending time with this person make me want to be a better person?

If you and I sit down at lunch and you order soup and a salad, it makes me think twice about ordering a double cheeseburger with bacon and fries. If my friends are going out for a run, I feel that inner nudge to push myself. If a colleague is honest and humble about a mistake he has made, I am humbled by his example of humility.

Goodness is contagious. The problem is, so are worldly distractions. The challenge for you and me, in the midst of the modern world, is to be examples of good living. None of us realize how much we influence others. Everything you do, people are watching, and everything you say, people are listening. The influence of your words and actions is contributing to the way they live their lives.

You will learn more from your friends than you ever will from books. When you are choosing friends, choose those who are striving to better themselves, companions for the journey who have this quality. The best thing you can do for yourself is become the-best-version-of-yourself.

The great vehicle that God wants to use to share the truth, beauty, and wisdom in His ways with the modern world is not the mass-media or the Internet. The vehicle God wants to use is friendship. It is only through friendship that trust and mutual respect are established. Only then can we begin addressing the questions that every human heart longs to answer. Who am I? Where did I come from? What am I here for? How did I do it? Where am I going?

Continue to foster these friendships, and God will use you powerfully. I will never forget the people who did just this for me. Without their time and effort, without their passion for the life-giving ways, I don't know where I would be today. I am eternally grateful to them.