“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.” Anaïs Nin

Thank you for joining us for the 2022 Marble Women’s Ministry’s Lenten Blog, Walking the Path of Lent with Friends. Friendship seemed like the suitable theme this year, as for so many of us, we are emerging from a two-year hiatus from forging new friendships in person. 

My late grandmother, Marcella, taught me valuable lessons about friendship. First, you are never too old to make new friends. She lived well into her 90s and continuously made new friends. 

I observed some of the ways she made friends, often with people far younger than her, as many of her friends her age had passed on. Startup a conversation, smile, show interest and do not be afraid to share something about yourself. She had varied friends, so she did not always look for similarities but thrived with those who may have been very different from her. 

And most importantly, she showed up for her friends when they needed her. And if she could not do it in person, she connected via telephone or wrote notes and cards. Email just does not seem personal enough to foster the connection.      

I would like to leave you with a song we used to sing in Girl Scouts, as it seems to be the perfect song about friendship to me. 

Make new friends,
but keep the old.
One is silver,
the other is gold.

A circle is round,
it has no end.
That’s how long,
I will be your friend.

A fire burns bright,
it warms the heart.
We’ve been friends,
from the very start.

You have one hand,
I have the other.
Put them together,
We have each other.

Silver is precious,
Gold is too.
I am precious,
and so are you.

You help me,
and I’ll help you
and together
we will see it through.

The sky is blue
The Earth is green
I can help
to keep it clean

Across the land
Across the sea
Friends forever
We will always be.

Make New Friends Lyrics – Scout Songs. https://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/makenewfriends.html

Oh, and one last post for the season will appear tomorrow highlighting a program we are doing in the spring on the road to better health.