Thank God for Real Friends

All of my regular readers/friends have been following along this past year as I worked on a software implementation project. I never intended my work to be a subject that I blogged on. I suppose though, as it consumed my time and I needed to vent, I wrote about it entirely too often. I'll be honest, at times I have felt like it has been sucking the life out of me.

One of my dear friends who I've known now for at least 2 years from back on Yahoo 360, sent me a really honest, check your gut kind of e-mail. Her e-mail was packed with so much wisdom. She said she has noticed a "marked difference" in me. She came right out and said "you need to balance out what your priorities are in your life right now. Perhaps ask for a vacation or a break..."

"I think if you perhaps consider what it means to become humbled to various aspects of your life and allow all of the blessings that you are showered with daily, things will change dramatically and most likely in a blink of an eye."

"I believe in prayer, but I also believe that God wants and expects us to use discernment to "just do it" and make it happen, other than just "trying" or just "asking for patience, for example."

And in my opinion probably the most wise advice of all:

"Its not even the circumstances that are important here, its how you are choosing to react to this and your perception. Just a slight alteration of your perception could allow the patience that is already inside you to rise to the surface once again."

Now, I hope she doesn't mind me sharing all of that with you (sorry for not asking your permission - - it was good stuff and I had to share it because it really made me think).

So I want you to know, I did sit down and write out a list of my blessings. Sometimes its so easy to lose sight of all those blessings. As I looked at my list, I thought, I could do an entire blog entry on each one - - and I may do just that, at some point.

I just want my friend to know I praised her in Bible Study tonight. One of my friends commented, "Wow, she's a real friend, you don't want to lose her. It takes a real friend to tell you something like that."

So, to the most positive person I know (and you know who you are, as will some others) thanks for being the wonderful person you are and for pulling me back into the boat, giving me the cyber slap across the face to bring me back to my senses and for your continued friendship. I hope that I can be that for you.