On the Journey Toward Becoming Friends by Doug Weibe

Friendships are mysterious. They often begin and end when we least them expect them to. We sometimes become friends with people we are not initially drawn to. Sometimes we don't develop the kind of friendship we desire with someone we are attracted to. Some friendships take a lot of work, while others are as natural as breathing.
Friendship is a gift waiting to be revealed with every person I meet. With just a few people, the gift of covenant relationship will be revealed. With very many people, the gift of friendly waves and weather conversations will unfold. In between are the gifts of healthy working friendships, close lifelong friendships, friendships born in crisis, celebration, a shared passion for coffee, golf, children, faith, travel, et cetera.
Friendships are life-giving when we accept, nurture, and celebrate the particular gift that is present in each. Friendships are draining and difficult when we reject the gift by either not accepting the intimacy offered or trying to make the gift more intimate than it was ever meant to be.
These gifts of friendship are scattered like ripe fruit in the gardens of our lives, waiting to be tasted and enjoyed. Each gift is given by a loving God, who knows what we need and who desires a friendship with every one of us. Therefore, while we may choose our friendships, we do not create the gift of friendship. We can work on our friendships, but we cannot change them into something they are not gifted to be. This is the pain and the joy, the poverty and the incredible freedom we experience on the journey to becoming friends.

What's been going on?

I know it's been a while since my last post, so here's an update. In my simple little life a couple of things have happened recently, mostly in the area of faith in my life. After what seems to have been a long and winding road I've finally come to the realization that I'm a Presbyterian. Having been given this gift of realization from the Almighty, I've since joined a PCUSA church in my area. Also this past Sunday my two boys were also baptised into the church. It was an exciting day for my family. Aside from the obvious reasons, the day was even more blessed because my husband and his mother and stepfather also attended church with me and our boys. It was a wonderful day.

Reflection for the week of October 1

Baptism as a way to the freedom of the children of God and as a way to a life in community calls for a personal commitment. There is nothing magical or automatic about this sacrament. Having water poured over us while someone says, "I baptise you in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," has lasting significance when we are willing to claim and reclaim in all possible ways the spiritual truth of who we are as baptised people.In this sense baptism is a call to parents of baptised children and to the baptised themselves to choose constantly for the light in the midst of a dark world and for life in the midst of a death-harbouring society.

A Reflection for the week of September 17

What kind of person takes absolute glee in cutting, tearing, ripping, and slicing beautiful fabric into small pieces? It is not the vengeance of a maniac but the soul of a quilter. Like lives blown to bits by tragedy, fabric of every color mound in unruly stacks waiting to be sorted, patterned, sewn and sandwiched into a warm, comforting blanket. And the ugly, drab pieces? Like distasteful, irritating companions on our journey, they, too, must be integrated into the intricate scheme. Only upon completion can the whole beauty of the combination resonate. To dismiss the indigent, to avoid contact with an HIV patient, to turn away in disgust from the smell of the unwashed, and to shield ourselves from the eyes of the hungry will diminish the quilt of our lives. Only the contrast of pairing the resplendent with the blemished, can the subtle beauty emerge. Utilizing only the bright, dazzling well-designed pieces and committing the lackluster to the waste bin is comparable to living one-dimensional lives. We can't afford to lose the sacred (the Christ figures), the mendicants, who create the subtle beauty from which a whole life is viewed. Celebration can then begin.

I saw these clouds one day in March. It was a terribly windy day. I'd never noticed the clouds doing that before so I just had to take a picture.