Kind Words and Friendship

When I started the Celebrate Friendship meme, the main goal at heart was to honor my beloved friends by publicly expressing my thoughts of them. Although I already knew that each celebrated friend would take delight on the post dedicated to her (as much as I would do if someone did the same thing for me), never did I expect how much each post has touched a friend's heart.

It is my joy to share to you excerpts from the responses I received from my celebrated friends:

Oh Ruth~
I cried like a big ole baby!
You are too kind and I really can't believe you did that. If only you could understand how much that meant to me......... thank you ..... for giving me lots of love. I really don't deserve it, but appreciate it and will treasure it and your family as always.
Laura

Hi Ruth,
I am responding to your honoring of me in segments. You captured me so well. I will for always treasure what you wrote. I badly miss those times on the beach with God. While still there, I use to wonder how I could live not having a beach to meet God on. As well, I miss having a woman like you in my life. I treasured those times that you and I had together....
Mala

Wow!
This was a really sweet surprise!
You are a joy to me.
LeaAnn

Dear Ruth,
Thank you for the honor of being your celebrated friend this week! I feel very special. I always love to hear your dreams and plans, discouragements and encouragements, because they are so much like my own. We may not be sisters by birth, but surely we are by heart!
Reading your post brought tears to my eyes because I MISS YOU! I wish I could really drop by your house this week, for coffee and that special treat. One of these days we will do it!
I love you!
Theresa

Hi Ruth,
I've just read your lovely, lovely blog post. What sweet things you've said about me, I feel quite humbled. I'm cheered as well though because your friendship touched me in a really special way and I do spend a lot of time thinking of you guys. Like you say, little things trigger thoughts of you. It's strange isn't it, how we can just connect with people. It isn't necessarily logical - we have very different backgrounds, life experiences etc - and yet you just spoke to my heart and we seem to formed a unique friendship......
Thanks again for such lovely, kind words.
Much love,
Emma xxx

Dearest Ruth,
My heart was so very touched by your kind words about our friendship. Actually tears were streaming down my face in parts of the article. I can truly say I am very blessed to have you as a friend and to have a small part in the life of such a lovely family.....
Thank you for the requests for my health concerns. We are hoping for some answers soon to the mystery of this recurring fever. It is so good to know that the reasons are not hidden from the All-Knowing One, and we are asking for wisdom and His healing touch.
Love you all,
Ate Rosa

I don't have Floie's and Bing's notes to show here but they told me how each post dedicated to them brought tears of joy and encouragement to their hearts. Carmen called all the way from Canada and we chatted long and hearts were refreshed.

I posted this not to brag of what I did but to remind myself and everyone of how much our kind words can touch the heart.

With this, I would like to invite you to let your friends know how you feel about them and how much their friendship mean to you by joining me every Saturday here for Celebrate Friendship meme. The guidelines are in my sidebar. You can do a twist according to your own style if you have other way of doing it. What matters most is that hearts are touched and friendship is celebrated. I look forward to read your own celebration.

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
Proverbs 16:24

Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of
God's greatest gifts.
It involves many things, but above all the power of going out of
one's self and appreciating what is noble and loving in another.

- Thomas Hughes