Nurturing Friendships

August is the month of National Friendship Day and World Friendship Day. Unintentionally, I also seem to be able to spend more than the usual time nurturing some of my friendships this month. Last weekend, I had a chance to just spend a Saturday evening with friends from church and class, having dinner and playing dominoes. The next day, I had a friend over for lunch. Sharing a meal together does help creating an atmosphere for good fellowship. The food also turned out pretty well. I made two types of grilled salmon - Cajun and Lemon Pepper; and cooked asparagus and gourmet rice as sides. This week, my friend who just returned from her summer break spending time with her family in Japan will be staying here for at least a day. We will get to share all that God has been doing in and through our lives since the beginning of summer. It's so neat that God allows us to go through similar life experiences at about the same time; since, it helps our bonds of friendship grow even stronger through empathy and understanding. Also, today, a co-worker friend of mine called me. My last contact with her was at Christmas; and I had tried to call her a few times this year but didn't reach her. She is having a BBQ celebrating the birth of her daughter; so, I'll get to see her and catch up at the end of this month. Over the weekend, several times, God also brought to mind another friend of mine. So, I contacted her today and was able to get an update on how she is doing. I do thank God for friendships; and I know how important it is to invest in the lives of others. I hope that I will be a true friend; and that I will continue to nurture these friendships.