Sunday, January 9, 2011

Let it Snow, Let in Snow, Let in Snow

We have not had much snow to speak of this winter. It has been quite cold but without snow the cold seems worse.

It is now snowing and will be for the next couple of days. We are to get up to 10 inches, if the weatherman is to be believed.

The snow looks beautiful. It covers the brown of dormant grass and naked trees. I think of the movie Dr Shivago and the snow somehow is romantic. It is soft as if floats down from the white sky. It covers the deck with a comforter of white.

On Monday, when I head out to work, it probably won't seem nearly as romantic as I slip and slide and worry about someone else running in to me. It won't seem so romantic when I am scraping my car's windows and freezing my face and hands.

But for now, I am enjoying watching it come down and cover the ground and thinking that a nice hot cup of coffee would be perfect right now.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Friends

I was talking to some people the other day and it suddenly hit me that there are folks whose only friends and social outlet are their families. They are "friends" with their brothers or sisters, their mothers and fathers, their cousins and aunts and uncles.

It struck me as odd.

I have always had friends outside of my immediate family. These friends have enhanced my life and added a texture and depth that I have treasured over the years.

These friends know me better than my family in some ways and love me anyway. My family can't reject me or stop being my family. They have no choice. But friends from outside the family choose to stay through thick and thin.

I can't imagine my life without my family. They have made me who I am.

But I also can't imagine my life without my friends who are not family. They love who I am. They make me laugh. They cry with me. They make my life rich and full.

God has brought many different friends into my life over the years when I needed them. Some are still friends, some have faded away but I look back and enjoy the memories.

How do you feel about having friends outside of your family? Do you?