you can pick your friends and you can pick your nose...

one time in high school, eric told us that the friends we had in high school that we thought we'd be b.f.f. with forever wouldn't necessarily be our friends past high school... and of course, being 17 or 18, we disagreed with him whole-heartedly... of course he was wrong because, if nothing else, he was an adult and they didn't know anything...

i hate to say that, at times, i agree with him... i do still keep in touch with friends from high school on a semi-regular basis... over time, however, the friendships have faded because of time or distance or change or a blend of the three...

then, in college, tim encouraged us to think about our 5... the 5 people that we could count on (not family) to drop everything and run if we asked them to... the 5 friends in our lives who, when crisis or joy happened in our lives, would run to our sides if we mentioned it... no questions asked...

sometimes i forget about who those five would be... and my list 6 years ago (the first time i made it) is not the list i would make today... things change, people change...

i was helping matt out by leading his h.s. bible study yesterday... and i don't really like teaching, so i wasn't too thrilled about it... but i do love the kids... and we were talking about mark 2 where jesus heals the paralytic whose friends have lowered him through the roof... and once again, i was reminded to stop and re-evaluate the friendships i had in my life...

in thinking through friendship, the first thought that comes into my head is not a scripture verse (don't judge me - if you know me, you know what i'm about to say)... it's a movie quote...

it happens sometimes. friends come in and out of our lives like busboys in a restaurant...

i've found friendship to be somewhat of a fleeting thing in many instances... however, there are those friends who have stuck by me - good times or bad... and it makes my heart smile knowing that they love me the same... i hope i've been that friends more times than i think i have... because i know it's not as many as i wish it was...

as the theme song from a great tv show says, "thank you for being a friend... your heart is true, you're a pal and a confidant..."