Facebook Fun

About a month ago my daughter-in-law introduced me to Facebook, an online place where friends can connect. Since that time I have visited the site at least once a day. At first it was just one or two friends that I connected with, and then a few more, and then things just began to mushroom and I have connected with soooo many people that I have known and been friends with in my past.

Years ago, when I was just 17, I spent an entire summer at a place known as "Winona Lake Bible Conference" in Indiana. I made many friends with one common thread, "we were all there to serve the Lord". There were missionaries children, kids who wanted to become missionaries, and kids who just wanted to work at a place where the gospel was preached everyday. There was one special friend that I had lost track of and had mentioned so many times over the years that I would like to find her. While on facebook one night I typed in her name, Naomi, and to my surprise, there she appeared! I could hardly wait to talk to her again! It had been 42 years since I had seen her. We had both married, had children, continued to serve the Lord and found out that our lives had many similarities.

Naomi called me and asked if we could meet her and her husband in St. Louis this week as they would be traveling through for a convention. We set up a time, a place, and then I began to get a little nervous. I realized people change a lot in 42 years. What if we didn't have anything in common and it became an akward evening? When Naomi walked through the door we had an immediate reconnection; almost as though we had been friends all these years. Most of all I think we both realized why we became friends in the first place; Our heart for God.

Naomi and her husband live in an inner-city area in Chicago. This is their choice and they work with ex-offenders when they come out of prison. She is a nurse, he is an engineer....they could be living anyplace they want, but this is where God has placed them and they are obeying. I look forward to talking to them more and learning more of their ministry. I think it is exciting that a friendship founded with God can last a lifetime.

Facebook has let me reconnect with friends from all over the United States. I am amazed that I have so many friends. Sometimes we feel that we have no friends and that our lives don't matter much, but facebook has shown me and others that we have many friends and all of our lives are important. It feels good to know that our friends are willing to open themselves up to let us in to their daily lives. Thank you facebook. But most of all, thank you God. When a man has friends, he is rich!


TIP OF THE WEEK

I read that if you start saving your banana peels about now then place them in the rows that you are going to plant your tomatoes in that the tomatoes will be larger and sweeter. I've never tried it, but maybe this year I will. Also, don't forget about composting your food scraps and using in your garden or flowers.