This post was inspired by a talk with the beautiful lady above. The shot was taken at the beach, self-timer, Canon A-1 film camera. The lady is a lovely Iowa kindergarten school teacher that I have known for the past 10 years, she is one of my dearest friends.
One of the things that I have learned since being married is that we have different needs/holes that are to be filled by different things/beings. There is a big place for God, and a relationship with our creater, which is the most important and vital of the three. The second (for me) is romance, my husband and the amazing friendship we have together (going on four years). The last one is (girl) friendship. I need someone to talk with and talk with and talk with again, sometimes about silly things and sometimes about heart wrenching things. This hole for girl-friendship, in my life, God has filled with my mom, my mother-in-law, my (not-so-little) sister and several other beautiful ladies.
One of the most important things I have learned about friendship is that it is all about who I am. Hah! Oh please, let me explain... I need to be (in the very least) what I expect people to be to me. AND if I strive to be an even better person this means I am going to strive to be above and beyond those expectation. So in the end it is the farthest thing from a selfish act, in fact it is selfless. Because when you are to others what you want them to be to you, your needs, wants and desires take second. I was so inspired by a quote once that says "Love without depending, listen without defending and speak without offending". I think if we applied that to our relationships life would be easier, we would become more selfless. And in becoming more selfless the contentment of life just appears. I have this quote written on a journal and feel as if it is one of those that should be read every morning (if not hourly on some days). But life is not about perfection, it's about the journey, taking the small steps to become the person you want to be, that God wants you to be. So journey on, my friends.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17