Saturday, March 7, 2009

Blast From the Past

What is it about meeting up with old friends again that can make you feel so good? Recently I have been able to find a bunch of friends I had long since lost touch with. It all happened on Facebook ...
First, a good friend named Sheri searched for me on the site and got in touch with me. We found out we lived just 40 miles apart! We met for lunch and the first thing we did? Gave each other a BIG hug, 35 years in the waiting! We had not seen each other since we were 10, hadn't written since we were 22, and were finally able to get back in touch 22 years later. That set off a roller coaster ride for me that hasn't quit yet.
I decided that if she could find me, how many other people would I be able to find myself? I searched first for one of my best friends from high school. She was the first person I met when I moved to the desert at age 11. I was her bridesmaid and we had been able to get together a few times after we started having children, but then we just sort of lost touch. I found her daughter on Facebook and wrote to her, hoping to find Cheryl again. It worked and I have been searching for and finding friends ever since!
Another friend, Taunya, I hadn't seen since our college days and today I am going to meet her in a nearby town to catch up on everything. And I am elated!
So, what is it about finding friends that makes you so happy? Why is it that friendship is so important anyway?
As people, I think we are not meant to be alone. We are creatures of family, needing each other to keep up our hope and our determination to succeed. When my grandmother got Alzheimer's my mom and I found out that one of the ways to combat the disease was to keep socially active. People who withdraw from social activities tend to become worse.
I also think the Lord meant for us to need each other so that we could help each other return to Him. Why else would he have us do temple work? Why would we need to go on missions and teach others? Why would he give men the priesthood, a power that they can only use to help others and not directly on themselves? If you think about it, just about everything the Lord tells us to do is for our salvation, yet it is always about serving others, teaching others, uplifting others, helping others. Missions, visiting teaching, home teaching, callings, families, temple work, genealogy, everything we do is about others. Hmmm ...
This brings me to another point I've been thinking about lately. Somehow service brings feelings of joy to your own heart and I am beginning to realize that the Lord has probably set it up that way on purpose. Whenever I have felt sad or lonely or in any way depressed or bad, if I put someone else first I have always felt better. And it's not the pat on the back or the thank you that you may receive that makes you feel better. It's the built in design the Lord has put in place that automatically feeds your soul. There's a kind of blessing that comes from doing it and the reward is a more happy, confident you.
With this in mind, tell me what you think about it all! What kinds of things have you found make you feel better, what things have you done in the past that really made a difference in the lives of your family and friends? We all need ideas on how to serve one another. So, let's get rolling!!!

2 comments:

  1. In YW today we talked about supporting family members and in the course of the lesson (YW Manual 1, Lesson #10) we discussed support for us that is unseen. Then this evening I read in D&C 84:88 where we read, “And whoso receiveth you, there I will be also , for I will go before your face. I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up.” In the lesson we talked about the possibility of family members who have gone before and those who have not yet come to this earth being there to support us in times of difficulty. I have been struggling with being as happy and positive as I’d like to be and this idea is so comforting to me to think that my future children and children’s children are there to support me and give me strength in difficult times. What a beautiful concept. Now when I think I'm on my own, I can think again, and know that I not only have my Savior and Heavenly Parents, but a whole group of people who love me and care for me there cheering me on.

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  2. Hey, I recognize Lee and Robert. Is that Joe Smith on the right?

    Angel Flight suits yet. I'm guessing that would have been 1977?

    Jimmus

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