New Friends/Old Friends

My favorite song from Girl Scout camping trips (sung around a campfire, of course) was this:

"Make new friends
But keep the old,
One is silver
And the other gold."

We sang it in a round, making for very nice harmony. Loved it then, love it now. I appreciate the sentiment expressed more than ever. Truly there is blessing in both old and new friends.

I am blessed with some thirty-plus years of friendship with a large group of people in Phoenix. I am blessed with the friendship of a couple my husband and I used to double-date with, eons ago. When we get together, it's like no time has passed. Another couple visits Phoenix yearly and we pick up right where we left off the previous year. Treasures, all of them.

I have a friend who has been my unofficial spiritual mentor for over forty years. There is something about sharing a history with other people that cements relationships. It amazes me to think of the various life stages we've muddled through together.

Recently, I've made several new friends. One I met about a year ago and we clicked right from the start. We both feel like we've known each other for years. We share the same values, similar outlooks, etc. Another woman is a friend of less than six months. It is exciting as we learn more about each others' outlooks and belief systems. Even our quirks are fun to discover.

One of the perks of social media is the connection that occurs through the Internet. I reconnected with a special girlfriend from my elementary, junior high, and high school days. We've been conversing electronically the past two years but just recently spoke on the phone. Imagine, hearing a friend's voice for the first time in fifty years! It was a joyful conversation--just two old girlfriends chatting and laughing like we did in fifth grade.

What about you? Are you connected with some very dear old (make that "former") friends? Do you appreciate their value in that they helped form your personality? Have you been blessed with the opportunity to make new friends? What a joy to discover similarities and differences.

The truth is, we are created to love and honor God and to relate to other people. We are social beings, created for interaction. New friends, old friends--both enrich our lives.

Yes, one really is as valuable as silver and the other is as valuable as gold.

Those Girl Scouts nailed it.

Your turn:

• Leave a comment telling how a special friend "lights up your life."
• Is there a person from your past you've reconnected with through social media?

Instructions for leaving comments:

• Click on No Comments (or Comments)
• Use down arrow to select how to respond--Anonymous works unless you have a Google account then you can select that
• Hit "Publish"
• Check box that says, "I am not a robot"
• Hit "Publish" again

That should work! Thank you for leaving comments. I love to hear from you.