“Sometimes, more often times than not, people come into your life and you will know right away how special they are and that they were meant to be there. To serve some sort of purpose, help teach you who you really are, or direct you to the path of who you wish to become.

You never know or see them coming but once you lock eyes with them, get to know them, or share in their light, you realize that every moment spent with them that they will affect your life in some unique and profound way.” ~Angela Heppner, via @wisdomalacarte on Twitter

I love what Dr. Heppner wrote in those above lines! I love how people come in and out of our lives just when they are needed, or just when we are capable of recognizing them and having a relationship with them.

There are people whom I’ve let go of over the years. You have people like that, too, of course. Not that you don’t like those people anymore, necessarily, but just that you’ve learned to draw boundries, or perhaps you’ve outgrown each other in various areas of life. I’ve done that, too. People who are negative, who want to hold us back, or with whom we can’t be ourselves, are better let go of, in my opinion. Life is too short for that! Nurture the blessed, loving relationships. Be kind to the other friends, but let them go if they are draining you. It’s ok to do that.

I am always happy to meet new people; I love to find out about them and hear what they like to do or have to share. It’s fun when you “click’ with a new friend and feel as if you’ve known them for years. It feels as if you could say almost anything to him or her and trust that your thoughts wouldn’t be ridiculed or judged.  A word of advice can be taken from them pretty easily, because you know they love you no matter what. Mother Teresa said, “Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.” I feel safe risking this with my friends.

I like this quote from Kahlil Gibran: “Your friend is your needs answered. He is your field which you sow with love.” I believe God allows people into our lives to teach us how to love, how to give of ourselves, and how to be open. Sometimes our tendency is to shield ourselves for fear of being hurt, so we hide our true selves from others. It’s so amazing to have at least one friend with whom we can be ourselves. When we are comfortable doing that, we learn to be more merciful to others, and able to share from the heart with them when they are feeling hurt or vulnerable.

Emily Dickinson is one of my favorite poets. She was close to her family, but wasn’t at all what you’d call a social butterfly. On the contrary, she is reputed to have been a recluse. She spent most of her adulthood writing poetry and letters in her bedroom, seldom venturing out of the house.  Even in the confines of her room,though, she found friendship. She had relationships. She spent time writing letters to these friends, and I personally believe she’d have loved blogging and Twitter. 😉 

She did see her friends in person occasionally, allowing herself brief visits, and said the following to one of them: “I found it a shelter to speak to you.”  Such a simple statement, but I understand what she meant. A shelter. God is our shelter, and He gives us friends to shelter us, too. I love that kind of protection.

Oh, the comfort – the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person – having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.  ~Dinah Craik, A Life for a Life, 1859