The One’s that got Away!!

Yeah, the birds are singing this morning!  That always makes me feel a little less weighted down with life.  The birds remind me of God and his promises to care for us.  He cares for them and they sound very happy today!  That's encouraging!

 

Friendship is something that we all enjoy, something that we all participate in and something that we should never take for granted.  As I read the message in our devotional book this morning I thought about the 'ones that got away'.  It's almost like a fishing story that a 'great' fisherman' would tell about the big one that eluded his hook and made it back to safety in the water.  Except, in this case it may not be safety that they made it back to.  It may very well be eternal death.

 

The people I'm thinking about are not just the individuals that I shared some time with at college, or high school, or at professional function.  They are not just the ones at church that came in one door and left out the other and never came back.  These people are souls that God put in front of me and gave me the opportunity to share Him and His story with and I failed miserably. 

 

The faces of these same people are in my minds eye reminding me that maybe if I had taken those few moments to drop them a note, send a card or even now in this fast paced society type a few encouraging words in an email, maybe we would still have a relationship and just possibly I would still have the opportunity to share my hope with them.  I realize that I cannot carry all of the burden for a failed relationship on myself.  I know that

I alone cannot keep a relationship alive that the other party must also be willing to participate.  But, I do know that I have been guilty of letting life get in the way.

 

Truth is we all are busy.  We have jobs, family and situations that need our attention.  Priority must be set and sometimes we simply do not have enough hours in the day to accomplish all we would like to.  I just know that in deep in my heart, I feel the loss of past friendships.  I do however believe that my grief has been rewarded because I have been blessed so abundantly with friendships now that I am overwhelmed at times just thinking about it.  I know too, that I never want to take it for granted.  So, to you, my friends I say, I love you and thank God for you. Remember we are blessed by God to be together and we must always try to be good stewards of that blessing.