I have had people tell me they don't believe that cyber friendships are really real. That the internet is one more way for us to "disconnect" from real people. I have found just the opposite to be true. When I started to blog, one of my friends told me there was a blog I had to read. That I would really connect to the writer. I did. Through her blog, I have connected to some of her friends and family. I have met people I would not have met otherwise. A young woman from another country that I now call "dear niece". The brilliant student and the inventor/writer who make me think outside of the box. The poet. The artist. The mom I hardly knew and the mom I knew B.B. (before babies). Some of my cyber friends I have never met and may never have the chance to meet. Some I have met but don't see often.
This I know, I have come to care about my cyber friends deeply. I laugh with you. I worry about you when you don't show up for awhile. I pray when you or someone you love is sick, or laid off, or marching off to war, or hurting, or scared. I learn from your wisdom. I rejoice in your victories and joys.
Recently, God brought another new cyber friend into my life. I connected with my friend. She has a heart that loves others and just wants to serve. She is the kind of person who, as Oswald Chambers puts it, "produces a longing after God in other lives..." I began to care about her and her family. She began to care for me and my daughter. Besides blogging, we began to email. She has become a blessing in my life and I am thankful for our growing friendship.
If cyber friendships are not real, then I ask you...why did my heart break for my friend when I received her email saying that her beloved husband died? We both know that he is not broken, or weeping...but is rejoicing in the presence of his Savior. I have been praying for days for my friend. That her heart would be comforted. That she would be surrounded by people who love her and her children. That there would be shoulders to hold her up and shoulders to cry on. That there would be those to share memories with, faith with.
Those of you who call me friend, whether you know me in person or not, would you please join me in praying for my new friend and her children? I know I can count each of you!
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5 comments:
Dear Lord... Please wrap your loving arms around Kaymac's friend and her family. May they find sweet rest in your presence. Give them peace like a river, slowly flowing forward as they prepare to go on with this life while missing their loved one. In Jesus Name...
Amen
I am joining you in prayer for your precious friend. I just read her last post, and my eyes filled with tears. It's so hard to say goodbye, even when we know that one day we'll meet again.
You are a precious friend, cyber and every other way. You bless me and I thank you.
I definitely think you can make friends over the Internet. How they compare to flesh and blood friends ... I don't know.
On the other hand, it seems to be much easier to find like minded people on the Internet than in our own backyards.
Maybe we are all just too polite online (except for those who seem to delight in being perversely offensive).
i identify with this post so completely and join you in prayer for your friend.
Dear Kathy,
Thank you for this post, and even more, for your friendship. It has truly been a comfort to know that God is using even people I haven't personally met to be a channel of His comfort and compassion. I thank all of your readers who have read this post and have responded by praying for me and my family. You are a God-sent! I know God will reward your in ways you have never expected.
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