The Gift of Friendship

I am truly blessed with some wonderful friends.

Some go as far back as my secondary school days and some are as recent as the past five years. I have found that the length of the friendship is not always directly proportional to the quality of the friendships.

Today’s post is a celebration of friendship and it is dedicated to all the people I call friends. You all know yourselves.

As I pondered what to write, I thought I would share about how some of those friendships came about and some highlights.

Propositioned by Anita

When I think about Anita the word, ‘proposition’ comes to mind. We met at a charity dinner and hit it off like we had known each other all our lives.

The next day, Anita came with a piece of paper with her details on it and said she would like to be my friend if I was up for it – hence the propositioning.

I quickly passed my details to her and this kickstarted a friendship that soon turned us to family. In her I have a confidant, an encourager and prayer partner.

I nearly forgot her birthday once because I was focused on her surprise party which fell on a different day. She phoned me late at night and said, ‘I just want to give you an opportunity to not miss wishing me a happy birthday.’ How about that for a great friend?

Escorted down the aisle by Bose

I met Bose in university and over the years our friendship has gone from strength to strength. She walked behind me down the aisle and I was by her side when she got married.

Over the years we have navigated life, careers, marriage and parenting together. Although she’s in America and our calls can be infrequent sometimes, we always pick up as though our last chat was only the night before.

We have so much fun and laughter and our children know when we are on the phone to each other.

Held up by Bisi

Bisi came into my life less than two decades ago. We attended the same fellowship and she asked me to become her prayer and accountability partner.

I had not had one for many years and it wasn’t really my thing but I was willing to give it a go. This began a relationship that quickly evolved to a wonderful friendship.

Through the years, we have helped each other to grow in our faith, work and family life. We have challenged each other to be better parents, investors and make an impact in our spheres of influence.

There have been moments in my life when Bisi prayed when I was too tired to and vice versa. Every conversation with her edifies and builds me up. Again she’s in Canada but the distance hasn’t been a barrier.

Laughter with Nafisat

I met Nafisat in secondary school and we became best friends. We always had a laugh and Nafisat could really laugh. I got her into trouble a few times.

I would crack a joke or make a comment and I could immediately pull a straight face if a teacher walked in but Nafisat couldn’t. So quite often she would burst out laughing hysterically which didn’t always go down so well.

I lost contact with Nafisat for some years but never stopped looking for her. When we reconnected it was as though no time had been lost.

Nafisat is the kind of friend who checks in on my mum on a regular basis and it’s not because I asked her to. How awesome is that?

Loved by Adega and Laurel

What can I say? ‘They fell in love with me at hello.’ They are more like aunties to me but I also get to call them friends and family. They are listening ears, prayer partners, generous gift givers, challengers and great encouragers.

They are always talking about me to others – my very own publicists.

There are many more friends l could talk about like Jane, my outspoken friend, who would challenge me on not writing a full paragraph about her.

Take a moment this week to be grateful that you were created in love and for love. Honour and appreciate those you call friends because they are God’s love-gifts to you.

See you next week. Thanks for reading my post.