Facebook Friends

Facebook is a cool thing! I have reconnected with so many friends from the past. The list of people who are my "facebook friends" extends all the way back to elementary school. There are people from junior high, high school, college, seminary, and people I have ministered to and with. The time I have known these people extends to just under 44 years. (My sister Leigh is now on Facebook and I have known her all my life..ha). As of 1:45 today, I officially have 234 of those friends. I THINK that is a badge for some people.

Some "facebook friends" I barely remember and others were as close as a brother or sister at one point in my life. At one time I rubbed shoulders with these people everyday and now I get a peek into their world. It is interesting to read all the posts. You see people in love and out of love, people who are parenting, people with busy schedules, and people with interesting hobbies or games.

If you take a step back and observe for a minute, you can really see parts of what you saw in someone 5, 10, 20, and 40 years ago. It is amazing to see what people are doing with their lives and how it often mirrors their past interests and passions. Seeing the good parenting skills of some and the success and contribution others are making to God's plan motivates me and makes me so proud to be there friend.

One last comment about Facebook... Rarely do we see the pain, toil, and difficulty that people may be going through. I have discovered on more than one occasion recently total devastation in the life of a facebook friend. Divorce, death, disease are always around us. Be sensitive enough to observe and ask the people from your past the real questions. Life's not all about the latest sports score, weather reports, or activities in a person's life. Don't miss the heart and soul behind that status update - that's where life is lived.