New Friends

About six months ago, my life turned upside down. After dealing with some challenging situations for three years in a largely silent manner, I finally spoke out about how much someone else's decision had negatively impacted my life. Although many people came alongside, one of my closest friends freaked out on me and ended the friendship. Several weeks later, I was kicked out of ministry position for the same reason. Other people have either stopped speaking to me or removed me from their friends list on Facebook, but I'm not sure how many friendships have ended as a result. Only one friend has done me the "courtesy" of a face-to-face.

Friends are a huge part of my life. Adulthood has been challenging as my best friends have moved away or gotten super busy. Building friendships as an adult can be challenging, especially as a parent of young children. Being a parent and a friend is often a difficult balance especially when parenting philosophies differ. Although I still have friends and have been making new ones, the last several months have felt almost unbearably lonely.

I'm writing about this because I just got back from a dinner party. I have lovely new neighbours that I currently love to pieces. They've only been our neighbours for about two weeks and this is our second meal with them, not counting snacks and tea. They are wonderful! I have been praying for months for good neighbours that I can be friends with and I really believe that my new neighbours are an answer to that prayer. I'm quickly blogging while I wait for my kids to settle enough to wander back over. We have furniture and dishes to bring back, and of course more laughter to share. There is nothing like trying to communicate in several languages. It's great. :)