Good Friends

I've waited to write this post. But I have a new happiness in my life, and I'd like to share it with you. It's a new bloggy happiness. You know I've moved to a new place this year, and it's been a place to make new friends. Sometimes it's hard work, having only new friends, and having all your old friends far away. Friends are important.

In the past few years, I've read other people's blogs, and after a long while of doing that, you tend to gravitate to a few blogs (or a few dozen!) and you almost feel you get to know those bloggers. I found that other ladies "of a certain age" (like me) were blogging too. Christian women. Readers. Thinkers. Lovers of beauty. Various kinds of artisans. We commented and used each others' bloggy nick-names. I found myself visiting their blog homes in the far west or even overseas, and slowly ... very slowly ... getting to be friends.

And then one of these ladies asked if we should start a group.

This is not us.

And we did. A small group. We decided to keep it small, only six of us, a manageable number. It could easily have been ten or twelve, with all the wonderful blog ladies out there. Perhaps God knew we needed the friendship we've found. But I must tell you this:  it's been a blessing and a comfort, and these ladies are such a treasure to me. We've shared our lives, our dreams, our families, our disappointments, our goals, and our accomplishments. We don't criticize or fuss or compete. I think we all instinctively understood that this small, warm circle of friendship was no place for those things.

Real, precious, warm friendship can be found online. We have not met each other, and we may never. But I know -- I know -- that if we did, we'd have lovely conversations and laughter and share food and secrets and a fireside. We tend to love the same things, our Lord most of all.

If the online world feels to you like an impersonal, callous, argumentative place, I just want to say that it doesn't have to be. There are so many lovely people out there. Find them. Introduce yourself. And if you both feel comfortable, make a real friendship with last names and addresses and Christmas cards and maybe even, someday, a visit. It's really no scarier than the stranger living down the street.