© ~Fabrics of Friendship

© Photography by ~CC

While sweeping over one of my favorite chairs

upholstered in mini stripes of deep purple velvet and butter cream hues yesterday, I was enamored by the fact that I selected this fabric because it reminded me of two dear purplesque friends. Have you ever selected fabric, a decorative pillow, or a teacup to add to your collection in a particular color or pattern because it reminds you of a precious friend? An epiphany came to mind as I swept that striped chair. Fabrics really represent friendships in a unique way. Not only because of the pattern or the color, but because of what the word itself defines.

Thus my search began on the word "Fabric". Lo and behold, the epiphany I had did have some context. I used my trusty thesaurus to locate words of similarity that relate to the word fabric. I found words such as: substance, transparency, softness, flexibility, and consistency. Fabrics of Friendship doesn't only sound great, it is great! Now I understood why I had one of those "Godincident" moments. An epiphany, I truely believe, is a "Godincident thought". To me they are one and the same, because any good thing is a gift from God, even epiphany's! James 1:17 (New International Version) 17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Reflecting on that phrase "Fabrics of Friendship", I found myself going down mental paths of all the times my friends have lifted me up, rallied around me, cared beyond measure... This thought evoked the scripture in my memory of Proverbs 18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. I thought about how supportive my friends have been throughout my life. I am so blessed by the friends I've had for years, even decades! I guess God didn't think that was enough, so he gave me more. He gave me new friends when I experienced new situations in my life. Situations that no one else could possibly imagine, only someone walking in the same moccasins.

Sitting here now, I reflect on the friend I still feel safest while crying on her shoulder; the friend I love to brainstorm with; the friend I can sit and be 100% myself with ~ to be content in gazing through magazines, sharing ideas, or simply sitting on her patio watching a bird feed while neither of us say a word; and the friend I share the deepest spiritual conversations with that leaves us both floating like a feather afterwards ~ and many times we leave the conversation with a scripture as a gift to one another so we can post somewhere to remind us each of how we continue to journey on with hope for our futures. How blessed I am! I rest in knowing that each time I sit in my purple and butter cream striped velvet chair, it represents two amongst the great list of my friends.

I find the length of a friendship doesn't really quantify the depth of a friendship. What does is the vulnerability and honesty that one brings to the relationship. That's where the true and faithful "transparency" I so often talk about comes in. To have a friend where one is always trying to figure out "what" to say, or not to say; or a friend that you feel you are constantly in "competion" with, that's not a healthy friendship.

Then there are those friendships that just hit a bump of misunderstanding in the road. When determined, that type of friendship can go the distance, just simply because you know it's meant to be. I have one of those friendships, and I can say it will be one that will last forever. I realized that if we could marry for better or for worse, we could then certainly look at a friendship in a similar fashion and work through the bumps, instead of throwing in the towel because of hurt feelings. I can still remember when our friendship was rekindled. We sat in her living room as I shared with her how I had come to the conclusion that so many friendships end because they don't want to work through the tough stuff. I remember not being afraid of giving our friendship another chance. Instead, I was excited that we were allowing God to grow each of us in our friendship.

The friendship that knows no sense of time. It would be amiss of me to not mention the friendships that experience years of separation. Once reunited, it's as if time stood still. The love, the laughter, and the memories vivid...as if it were today. Like two teenage girls sitting together at a sleepover, they begin to unfold the layers of events that have transpired since each has last seen one another. Though each may wear a few new lines in their foreheads, time has stood still. Cherished memories are now brought back into light as the day spent together breathes new life into such a valued partnership!

Then there are the controlling friendships. The ones that are confining, debilitating, and exhausting. By now, you probably understand that those defining words do not describe a "friend". All of us have to reevaluate from time to time the people we choose to spend time with, the people we tend to migrate toward. If it's not the "Fabric of Friendship" that I have written about today, it may not truly be a friendship at all.

Be good to yourself today and do inventory of the type of friendships you have. Remember, Ralph Waldo Emerson stated it best when he said the following: "A man's growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends". Even though you may not select the fabrics in your home to remind you of a friend, I'm sure you have your own unique way of keeping them near to you as well.

Enjoy this day, enjoy this moment, and reach out to a precious friend this week to let them know how much you care! Staying In The Day with you....~CC