The Hardest Thing

What’s the hardest thing about living in Peru?  We’ve lived in this country for over 10 months now, and we feel so fortunate and blessed by so many aspects of our life here.  But if I had to pin point the hardest thing about life for me right now, I’d have to say that it’s actually the same thing that was hard about living in Birmingham.  I miss having my best friends close at hand.  On the other hand, however, I feel incredibly blessed by the support system I have from my long-distance friends. 

In each of the last several places I’ve lived I’ve had to say goodbye to close friends, but the upside is that I now have quite a few close friends living in several different places, and all willing to bless me from afar with prayers and encouragement.  Because of the extreme introvert that I am, I imagine if I’d lived in the same place my whole life I’d probably have a much smaller number of close friends.

My closest friends know that I love to write long e-mails, and I am so thankful for the sweet friends God has given me who are willing to read and respond.  This encourages me more than they will ever know.

Sometimes I feel a bit lonely and dwell on my desire to have all of these friends close, but it really never lasts long, because I pull out my laptop and type up an email and immediately feel connected and loved once again because I know I can count on them to be there for me and show me again the love of Christ.

" I have an inkling that when you see the face of God in heaven, you will say, 'Yes, I always knew You!' It was Him all along that you loved whenever you were with that treasured person. In friendship, God opens your eyes to the glories of Himself, and the greater the number of friends with whom you share deep and selfless love, the better and more clear the picture of God you will have."
- Joni Earickson Tada