In my life, there have been people I have come to know truly and very deeply. These are also the same people to whom I have truly and very deeply laid bare my soul. They are my loved ones and my friends forever. They may disappoint me often and even hurt me sometimes; but because of our mutual self-revelations to each other there is an unbreakable bond that tie us together – yes, forever.
This process of bonding is mediated more out of the heart rather than the mind. When I fell in love with and married Anabelle I did not do a cost/benefit analysis. Rather, I dreamt of all the wonderful things we would do through our years together and how miserable and empty my life would be with out her by my side. I have not regretted the decision to love her. In the end, I have gained more benefits than costs through this decision. When we decided to have children, we did not do a P&L statement; rather we imagined the gurgling and cooing sounds of new-born babes, their fresh smell, the parties we would celebrate for them, the picnics and outings we would enjoy with them, the sunshine and laughter they would bring into our lives. In the end, it had all been profit and no loss to us raising up Martin, Mickey and Macky.
In my younger years, I believed we made all your lifelong friends mostly in high school and some more in college and one kept these for life. I have been wrong. All throughout my life, I have been making lifetime friends at every important milestone of my life journey. Many of them are always within arms reach. Others are just a phone call or text message away. Still others are always reachable through social media. Some are temporarily lost through time and space. But when we see each other, we just pick up from where we last left off.
“One sees rightly only with the heart.” the Little Prince said, “What is essential is invisible to the eyes.” Friends and family are not only about love and the heart. They are also about faith and the will.
When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
John 1:45-51