I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends...

So, upon recent pondering, I've realized that although we believe we know what is best for ourselves, it is the Lord, Himself, that truly knows what we need in order to continue on sojourning. It is with great appreciation that I must thank the Lord for always providing, whether for only a season, or longer, good friends. Let me rephrase that; good fellowship. Anyone can have friends, but it is in deep fellowship that we find those people that, in selflessness, etch upon our lives not only one footprint, but many. I am fortunate to say that, in my life, I have had the utmost of richest fellowship. The Lord has provided me people, whom in the moments we had together, (and apart,) have sewn a great patch of beauty and strength into the quilt of my life. I sometimes wonder, upon first meeting, why the Lord might send certain people into my life, but then in retrospect I see how they have challenged me, and made me who I am today. Also, when I reflect upon why they are in my life, I see how the reactions I have to them truly can make me more like Christ, or less, if I choose. If we are wanting patience and the Lord brings an imbecile into our life to teach us patience, its up to us or not whether we choose to exercise what we prayed for in the first place.
I suppose one of the hardest parts of life, I have decided, up until now, is how hard it is letting go of blessed fellowship. When paths cross and then they must divide, it can be one of the hardest things we will experience, but we should take with us the encouragement that it is the Lord that binds us together. Also, its so easy to let life get in the way of maintaining fellowship, and therein lies a travesty. What was once such a strong and dedicated union, has since become only a weak imitation holding on by memories. In some ways we are fortunate to live in such an era of convenience, Internet, phone calls...etc. but there is something tangible, something meaningful about the effort to connect in a personal way. Letter writing, personal visits...etc. Time is not always on our side, however, we can embrace the opportunities that present themselves and not only rely on old memories to sharpen our fellowship, but create new ones.
It is true that there is a false perception of intimacy in society. Intimacy not only relies on the best of times, but the worst as well. In saying this, I mean that, there is beauty in accountability. People no longer want to be kept accountable, however, people who have experienced true fellowship will oblige to say that its because of the brutal honesty and then support thereafter that you truly know who your real friends are. In observation of other cultures, those seen as less fortunate, or not as "ahead-of-the-game" as us modern folk, lies something to be envied, to be taken from the simplicity of life. Modern day culture, technology and fast-paced living full of stress and distraction, lacks a catalyst, an excuse to nurture fellowship. We are so caught up in, "making the deadline," or the mentality that, "whoever has the biggest and best toys, wins!" When we take a moment and see for ourselves that there is a genuine happiness amongst people who have nothing but each other, who spend time in communion with one another and who truly know what it is to depend on one another, to love one another as Christ calls us to love one another, we see, herein lies the paradox that, we must surrender the excess of life in order to experience life. Fellowship cannot truly co-exist with a life distracted. Fellowship calls us to sacrifice something meaningful, something vulnerable, like pride, or selfishness. So, in conclusion, I say to you: Take time to not only remember the footprints that are left upon your heart by fellowship only God Himself could have brought into you life, savor it. Pursue it, and give thanks for having such an opportunity to experience it.