Anytime my caller ID tells me that Jessica is on the other end of the call, I answer with relief. My relocation to Florida some 700 miles away, stirs emotions in me that I have never experienced until now.

“I miss you too and can’t wait to see you in a few weeks”, she said.

Although she sounds upbeat during most of our conversations, I can sense her disappointment that I am no longer the instant lunch buddy, nor am I able to zip over for a night on her red sofa watching movies. I am going to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and December 7th Jess will fly back to Florida with me, staying an entire week. This offers great comfort to my soul.

The move here from North Carolina was a bittersweet one, a long awaited opportunity to be closer to my five children. Realizing the importance to travel through this door; Jess was happy for me but we both knew it would be difficult so far away from each other.

Amazingly our friendship has been easy to maintain. We seem to sail on the seas of friendship in sync with each other. Regardless of rough waters or the indecisiveness of the wind; we manage to stay aboard the same boat. We accept and love one another for who she is and share our thoughts with honesty and compassion. Without a real conscious decision to do so; overlooking one another’s shortcomings seems to just happen naturally. It is a stress free partnership that will last a lifetime.

I use to think if I had a lot of friends it would make me feel important and needed. Now, the number has diminished to the old rule of being able to count them on one hand and for this I am grateful. The relationships for a season, helped me grow, becoming the person I am today.

Meaningful friendships usually blossom from the ones that were planted before; those for a season. Some of these lessons were painful to separate from, while others were removed as answered prayers, opening the doors of opportunity that God continues to place before me.

During these times I learned a lot about forgiveness and acceptance; that I could forgive someone and accept them while keeping them at a healthy distance.

One of the advantages of having a best friend is being able to agree to disagree. With all human relationships, at one time or another, there will be disagreements. Most of them are so minuscule, compared to the bigger picture of life (to what does it really matter anyway) that after some good brewing time you cant remember what your opposition was in the first place.

As I write; listening to my reflections on friends has made me realize that I need to search for new ones in order to feel welcome and give my new surroundings a chance to feel like home. I must not discount the few I have met, giving friendship a chance to sprout, letting go of expectations. Holding myself back from comparing them to the friend I have in Jessica.

God didn’t create man or woman to be alone and with technology being as it is, we can have a host of past, present, and future friends with just one click. Somehow I don’t think that will be enough to replace a gentle touch, a warm embrace, a friendly smile, nor the sound of an encouraging voice even over the telephone. For me, these are the things that keep me glued together through the rough and choppy waters of life’s inevitable storms.