Joy found in Friendship

When life is happening one move after another what I've come to realize over my 32 years and 9 years of moving, people come into your life for a short blip of time, more often than not, filling your life with joy. Throughout our travels and moves I have taken comfort in the fact that everywhere I go I find a new friend or two.  Sure, it sounds like it's SO not a big deal to those of you that have been able to stay connected with those close friends made in your high school or college years. Even connections made through your work or spouses workplace can have a meaningful impact in your life.

In extending myself and offering my friendship to others, I fully realized that I would merely be an acquaintance to some people and that I may never see them again but...I did anyway in hopes of having a good friend close by to turn to wherever I was.   Some unexpected friendships resulted along the way, some that didn't workout, some that caused heart aches upon parting but mostly I found joy in friendship.
I'm thrilled to say that I have some friends that have Always been there for us and we've been so blessed in sharing in their joys throughout the years. Scot and Emily Davidson are definitely friends we can always call on anytime.  This year we celebrated the adoption of their son, Juwan,  in Decatur, Illinois.  I hope and pray that you will be able to keep those friendships throughout the years.

We've also been blessed with groups of friends that have been a family to us when we were so far from our own.  This group brought us meals after the birth of our daughter, meals when I was ill with H1N1 and pneumonia, they also helped watch our kids so we could have date nights, and they invited us to join them for various holidays and celebrations.

Lately, we have been able to enjoy the best of both since we've been closer to family then we have ever been as well as building new friendships. The thing to remember is that you too bring joy to others, you have much to offer and by extending yourself.

Joy in the Move

Just a year ago January 1, 2011 my husband and I ventured to Mt Vernon, Illinois, in hopes of finding a "great" house to rent. Last night my husband and I were sharing our favorite songs that have encouraged us along and during each of our moves, for me I love Chris Tomlin- I Will Follow and his  Third Day- Gone.  Unfortunately, being New Year's day only one Realtor was willing to work with us that day and the house he took us to was falling apart.  That day we did have some divine intervention as a friend of my husband's happened to have a relative that had a rental house come available that very day.  Of course the friend, didn't know if they would be available to let us see the home so he called....we were amazed that yes we could stop by and take a look.  However, the house was a disaster. Floors and bathrooms caked in animal feces, counters dirty, wallpaper dating to the 70's it was SO bad I cried myself to sleep.  The couple assured us they would never have shown the house to us had they known. Needless to say, they would never rent it to us without a major overhaul inside.  What seemed like a total disaster actually turned into a blessing.  The landlord tore out the flooring throughout the home, hired painters to remove the wallpaper, patch wholes, and resurface the ceilings as well as paint, and the house was thoroughly cleaned.  We moved in after just 5 weeks. Yesterday, I praised God for letting me be willing to be willing to take a chance on another B-I-G Huge move.  Change is never easy, we've moved across the country, lived in 4 different states and I've found joy in every move. Look for your blessings, joy will find you wherever you go!