Pragmatic about friendships? Not me!!

I am not a fan of change.  I like stability, and lots of it.  I lived in the same house for 21 years, and went to the same school for 13 years.  So for me, the idea of moving house and church frequently is not a friendly thought.


One of the problems I have with moving churches in particular is the question of moving on from friendships.  I don't do it.  For me, if you are my friend, you stay my friend irrespective of how often we talk on the phone (or chat on facebook), or how often we see each other.  I have friends that I would consider very good friends who I haven't seen or spoken to for a long long time.  


This hurts me.  I often wonder if I need to re-think the way I 'do' friendships.  Maybe I need to be like a person I know who is very 'pragmatic' about friendships when she moves church; essentially she says goodbye to people, and cuts them off from her 'friend list', expecting to take up the friendship again in heaven.  


I find that idea hard to stomach.  Especially since I considered her to be my friend after we had moved churches.  Then I heard her ideas about friendship.  


And I stopped.  


And I thought: was I ever her friend?  


Was I wrong to assume that we could stay friends after moving on to new churches?  Am I wrong to assume that when we move again (at the end of the year) that my friends from Terrey Hills will remain my friends after we're gone?  I hope not.  Because I hold friendship to be deeper and more important that that.  I hold friendship to be something that lasts and is there even without constant contact.  Even when life situations change (getting married/having kids) in my mind friendships continue on.  


So if I haven't phoned you in a while, or you're not on facebook, or we haven't seen each other in person lately (or even for a long time), please don't assume I don't care about you as much as I did when we saw each other often.  Please don't assume I have moved on from the friendship.  Please don't assume I don't still pray for you.  


Because I do care about you.  


I have not moved on.  


I do still pray for you.  


And chances are, I would LOVE to catch up with you in person.  Why don't we make a date?