Can you be friends with someone you do not know? Can you fall in love with someone you have never met? How can you begin to know where the truth starts and ends when you write to a pen pal?
I am considered middle-aged now. I know, it is a nasty word to some of us, and to others, it means freedom. Freedom from pregnancies, freedom to retire, freedom to travel.
Being middle age should show others we have lived more than the younger generation, and yet have room for growth as our elders could tell and show us.
I have had the normal family, as it is sometimes called. Two parents, one step-parent, one full brother, one half-sister. With this brought real grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and also other half family members from other sides of far away families.
We had the reunion things each summer, with everyone driving or flying in to one location, that had been planned for a year. I have great memories of those reunions. The only thing that broke them apart was old age and death.
I grew up with friends and class mates just like you did. I got married, not once but twice, and I have also been divorced twice. I made friends as an adult also, some leaving scars in my heart and others coming and going for reasons, only God knows.
The saying is, that if you have one good friend in your life, you are a lucky person. One of my blogger friends on here has had the same girlfriend for over sixty years. Now I think this is incredible. I do feel lucky though, because I have had one girlfriend for over thirty years and we are still very close,although she does not live in my home town any longer. If we call each other, we pick right back up where we left off a month ago. These are great friends to have.
But, what about those friends you meet online, that you have never met. Do you think you can form a never-ending bond between them and you without ever seeing each others faces? Could you be so lucky to be included in their family as a true friend or better yet a sister or brother?
I do. I have made many friends on here, but there are two particular blogger friends, who have made me feel needed as a friend, and seem to know my thoughts before even I do. Isn’t this awesome? I was told that I was a part of their family. You will never completely know how this makes me feel.
To have my parents both in heaven, and a half-sister that is dead to me, and my brother who is so sick, being made a part of someone’s family, who I have never met, is a miracle in itself.
The only way I know how to explain it, is to admit, that it is a mystery, unless………you believe in God, which I do. I believe that God placed these two souls right in front of my nose. Right here on WordPress. God arranged for me to cross over to their blogs and he had the precise words that would light up my curiosity, and lead me to continue to read them, make comments and form these special friendships.
Many months ago I prayed as I have told most of you, for God to show me how to feel helpful to others, as I sat here at home caring for my brother and not working outside the home. It took several months, but he answered.
He told me to write. Yes, he sure did. Just as if someone was sitting right beside me and whispering in my ear. Write, my child. This is exactly what I heard, and so I did begin the journey of my life with my brother, even advancing my thoughts into fictional stories, books, and poetry.
People say that God just does not answer prayers, he floods you with blessings for loving him. He has blessed me with my one good friend of over thirty years. He has given me many good friends on WordPress. He has helped me to open my mind and become creative with my imagination and words. He has given me two special friends on here. He has provided another family to take me in as a part of their family, because God knew how alone I felt, and how much I was missing my own mom and dad, and missing the spirit of my brother, and the sister I used to have.
You two know who you are, and my dear friend of over thirty years, thank you. Thank you for listening to me cry, whine, laugh and stress. Thank you for taking me in and making me a part of a family again. I may be here in my four walls and live with tears and pain, sorrows and stress, but by God’s grace, I am with family and friends. Thank you.
Related articles
- Sisterly love and rivalry… (livingherlifeat40.wordpress.com)
- Davina McCall’s grief after her half-sister Caroline dies of cancer (thesun.co.uk)
- Mysteries And Faith (terry1954.wordpress.com)
There are many caring and wonderful people here in the blogging world and I’m so glad you have found those to whom you relate to as family…Diane
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thank you Diane, and i consider you one of my good friends on here from the beginning. you are kind and honest and these are high qualities i look for in friendships
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Thanks Terry..I really feel your love most definitely for your brother, but also your pain as you struggle with the challenges each and every day…Diane
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yes, i agree, it isn’t easy, but it can be rewarding…..
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I’m all choked up – you have such grace, Terry!
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you mean more than words can even describe……….
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Hey jmgoyder, you are part of this trio, because if not for you, we would have been 3 lost people without the sisterhood we three share…..just saying…. (Sorry T, for taking over yer comments…:) Love both of you ladies, like there is no tomorrow….
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yes, of course, and i did mention two people in my blog without mentioning any names, but i hoped and assumed you two knew who it was…………
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God had a plan the day you and I met, two lost souls, fighting to save the one’s they love. Emotions overwhelming, friendship blooming. Unknowing, yet knowing, It was a prayer two people made that was answered.
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u ARE the best sister ever i could wish for………………
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Terry, this is a beautiful tribute to friendship in general as well as to particular friends. I am so glad you now have these people in your life to make things easier and make you feel that you belong. God bless you “big time”!
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i feel very blessed to have you and many others who are sincere and so caring. God has truly placed me in a wonderful setting…………..thank you
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And I have been blessed getting to know you. I’m so glad you stopped by my blog that day and also that I followed up to find out who you were.
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hugs from me to you!!!!
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‘But, what about those friends
you meet online, that you have never met. Do you think you can form a never-ending bond between them and you without ever seeing each others faces?
Could you be so lucky to be
included in their family as a true friend or better yet a sister or brother?’ my best line, the answer is NO
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i appreciate your honesty and view………..thank you Melbin!!!
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I believe sometimes we make even stronger bonds online than in real life, in real life we worry about burdening friends we worry about being judged it is far easier at times to pour your soul out to a stranger who has no preconceptions of who you should be
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this is so true Paula. We can show all of who we are with no problem, but sometimes we end up meeting also in real life from this, then we start to worry, what will they think………………
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By then I think they already know the best and the worst of us and have already accepted us as we are the only difference is they can give you a real hug rather than a cyber one 😀
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you know Paula, you are probably right, i need to quit stressing over the little things……..thanks for helping me to see this..hugs to you
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I am so happy for you and rejoicing in what God has done and given you . .. and that He has given others you as a friend too! I have seen it happen myself and so I understand, even if some don’t! God bless you and your new friends and family!!!
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and of course, Debbie, you have been included in the friends area for a long time, in my opinion
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This is so sweet! God does answer all prayers! You are certainly not alone! I too have been amazed at the community of bloggers on here that inspire each other, uplift each other, and who genuinely want to hear what you have to say! I’m so glad you have found some peace an joy!!!! And so sorry about your sister 😦
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isn’t it amazing how we connect to each other on here…………….my sister turned from me, not i from her. i actually tried to reach out to her last month, but is was not a success
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What a sweet and nice post, Terry … as I said before you have such a generous heart and soul. Good friends we don’t have many – most of us only a few.
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i have you for a friend, and i have been truly blessed by it so many times. i have learned so much about travels and foods you eat and recommend. you are a good teacher and a friend to me…….
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Thank you so much, Terry …. it goes both ways I learn for my too.
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🙂
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I am sure your friends know who they are….those types of friendships don’t come often. People who truely love will go through thick and thin….happiness….sadness….because this is what real love is like. Unconditional…..and constant. You have found joy in those who live you….and you love.
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you and i would know wouldn’t we…………………u r ultimately the best i could ever have wished for!!!!
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i do hope that you saw yourself in that blog, because i did mention you without name a few times………………
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This is such a lovely post Terry 🙂
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thank you for this nice comment my friend!!!!! i love reading your blogs every time they appear!!!
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Family is not always comprised of blood and flesh, it is comprised of the people who are there for you and listen to you and care for you. My flesh and blood family are never around when I need them, but there are others who are not flesh and blood that are there for me when I have the need for someone to talk to. They may not be here physically with me, but they always let me know when they are thinking of me and praying for me. Facebook is one way I have connecting with those people. The saying “you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family” is not entirely true. You can decide which friends you trust enough to make them family. Your blog is very touching Terry and though real life gets in my way and keeps me from being here to read yours and other blogs, I try to find the time to see what life has thrown your way. Always know you have people who care even though they might have never met you in person, your words have found a way into their heart. Every blog I read has a special person writing it and they have all become a part of my online family. God bless you Terry and give you strength!
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this comment makes me feel good inside. to realize that blood isn’t always the best, knowing i have friends who are family here, make it worth living. thank you so much for this inspirational comment you left me. i so appreciate it!!!
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Your welcome! 🙂
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