Thankful.

"Where there are friends, there is wealth." -Titus Muccius Plautus

-----------

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want to take the time to acknowledge all the friendships I've been blessed with.
Friends are the people that hold you together, push you forward, and lift you up. Without my friends, I would've crumbled a long time ago.
Honestly, I consider those people some of the greatest miracles I've ever experienced.

People are in our lives for a reason. Sometimes they teach us how to love, and sometimes they teach us how to lose.
It's okay for friendships to grow and change and develop.
Occassionally, we get too focused on what the future holds, and forget to be grateful for the people we have in our lives right now.

Friends should be people that you love. People that make you feel infinite.
Those are the kinds of friends I have.

When I'm upset, they can tell right away. It's almost as if my friends know me better than I know myself sometimes.
They protect me. Teach me. Help me.

My friends encourage and challenge me. They pray for and with me. They hold me accountable to my faith. They help me discover Truth in ways I never could have imagined.

One of the hardest things to learn, though, is that not everyone can or should be your friend. Friendships require commitment. They require connection. And they require care.

Friendships aren't always meant to last forever, either.
Sometimes God sends us people only for a season, yet other times He gives us people that we'll keep forever. It's a hard proccess, letting go. But sometimes we need to lose the people holding us back in order to receive someone so incredible, you don't understand how you lived without them.

If you have true friends, don't let them go. Don't take advantage of them. Never forget to tell your friends exactly how much they mean to you.
These are the people that shape you. You shape them.
You're in this TOGETHER.