True Kindred Spirits: A Lesson in Friendship
Confession: I am a huge Anne of Green Gables fan. Period. I love the books. I love the movies. I have dreams of going to Prince Edward Island. I hope that one day I will meet my Gilbert Blythe. I am a huge fan!
I don't know who of you out there is an Anne of Green Gables fan, but whether you profess a love for Anne or not, I am certain you at least have a desire for friendship. (Or at least an appreciation for it).
I am blessed with some amazing friends, and have had some great friends throughout my twenty-five plus years of existence. Nevertheless, I still learn new things about friendship all the time. Just today I learned about friendship from my life-long fictional friend Anne Shirley Blythe. (Sorry, that was a spoiler. Anne and Gilbert do eventually get married).
A little back story for whomever may not be as familiar with the Anne of Green Gables series. Anne Shirley, an orphan girl, is inadvertently adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister looking for a boy to help on the farm. Through a mix-up and a trial period (with its fair share of ups and downs), Matthew and Marilla keep Anne and raise her as only this endearing old bachelor and old maid could. It is a "coming of age" tale, in which the reader follows Anne through all sorts of misadventures, as she grows up and matures into an impeccable, ambitious, and intelligent young woman. (All the while her love of romance and her overactive imagination continue to get the best of her).
An integral part of the tale is Anne's friendship with Diana Barry--her bosom friend, a true kindred spirit. Their friendship begins when they are a mere eleven years old, and continues on long into their respective marriages and beyond.
The thing that has struck me in particular about Anne and Diana's friendship is the strength of it despite distance and change. While Anne goes off to Queens (a teaching school) and eventually Redmond College, Diana remains in quaint Avonlea. They exchange letters and correspondences, and when Anne returns home they visit for awhile taking walks down Lovers' Lane and the White Way of Delight. Anne takes a job teaching in Summerside, while Diana stays behind beginning her family with Fred Wright. Nevertheless, a beautiful place remains in their hearts for each other, and a relationship remains.
While reading Anne of Windy Poplars today (the fourth installment of the series), one line in particular struck me: "How like old times it was...only Katharine was with in her in place of Diana. Anne sighed. Diana had so many other interests now. No more running round to concerts and partiers for her."
There is a separation between Anne and Diana. They are at different parts of their lives. They are taking part in different activities. And yet...their friendship remains steadfast. Why? How?
Why? How can this be? How can they remain such good friends, such kindred spirits, if they are at different points in their lives with much less communication than they probably ever experienced before?
One word, my friend: trust.
They trust that even if they haven't seen each other in months that they still love each other. They trust that if they have written a letter, a letter will be received in return. They trust that upon their reunion there will be a great interest in whatever has occurred in their lives since their last rendezvous.
It almost seems like a foreign concept in this day and age, where we get annoyed if it has taken someone all day to respond to our text, or where we get agitated because our Facebook message goes unanswered for a week. In an age of such connectivity, we seem to thoroughly lack the connection that Anne and Diana experience in their "bosom" friendship. We lack that trust of one another, that trust that cannot be built quickly and speedily through technological means, but rather is fostered over time through presence, being, and steadfast love.
We are in an age of disconnection.
We are in an age of disconnection, but I am certain that everyone longs for a beautiful friendship like Anne and Diana's. (Men, feel free to insert your own example here). We are in an age of disconnection, but we long for connection and relationship. We are in an age of disconnection, and yet we are wired for connection.
So...how do we get that connection? How can we have those relationships rooted in such a deep trust? How can we deepen the connectivity in our relationships, our friendships?
Tune in next time for some answers (or at least my thoughts).
I don't know who of you out there is an Anne of Green Gables fan, but whether you profess a love for Anne or not, I am certain you at least have a desire for friendship. (Or at least an appreciation for it).
I am blessed with some amazing friends, and have had some great friends throughout my twenty-five plus years of existence. Nevertheless, I still learn new things about friendship all the time. Just today I learned about friendship from my life-long fictional friend Anne Shirley Blythe. (Sorry, that was a spoiler. Anne and Gilbert do eventually get married).
A little back story for whomever may not be as familiar with the Anne of Green Gables series. Anne Shirley, an orphan girl, is inadvertently adopted by Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert, a brother and sister looking for a boy to help on the farm. Through a mix-up and a trial period (with its fair share of ups and downs), Matthew and Marilla keep Anne and raise her as only this endearing old bachelor and old maid could. It is a "coming of age" tale, in which the reader follows Anne through all sorts of misadventures, as she grows up and matures into an impeccable, ambitious, and intelligent young woman. (All the while her love of romance and her overactive imagination continue to get the best of her).
An integral part of the tale is Anne's friendship with Diana Barry--her bosom friend, a true kindred spirit. Their friendship begins when they are a mere eleven years old, and continues on long into their respective marriages and beyond.
The thing that has struck me in particular about Anne and Diana's friendship is the strength of it despite distance and change. While Anne goes off to Queens (a teaching school) and eventually Redmond College, Diana remains in quaint Avonlea. They exchange letters and correspondences, and when Anne returns home they visit for awhile taking walks down Lovers' Lane and the White Way of Delight. Anne takes a job teaching in Summerside, while Diana stays behind beginning her family with Fred Wright. Nevertheless, a beautiful place remains in their hearts for each other, and a relationship remains.
While reading Anne of Windy Poplars today (the fourth installment of the series), one line in particular struck me: "How like old times it was...only Katharine was with in her in place of Diana. Anne sighed. Diana had so many other interests now. No more running round to concerts and partiers for her."
There is a separation between Anne and Diana. They are at different parts of their lives. They are taking part in different activities. And yet...their friendship remains steadfast. Why? How?
Why? How can this be? How can they remain such good friends, such kindred spirits, if they are at different points in their lives with much less communication than they probably ever experienced before?
One word, my friend: trust.
They trust that even if they haven't seen each other in months that they still love each other. They trust that if they have written a letter, a letter will be received in return. They trust that upon their reunion there will be a great interest in whatever has occurred in their lives since their last rendezvous.
It almost seems like a foreign concept in this day and age, where we get annoyed if it has taken someone all day to respond to our text, or where we get agitated because our Facebook message goes unanswered for a week. In an age of such connectivity, we seem to thoroughly lack the connection that Anne and Diana experience in their "bosom" friendship. We lack that trust of one another, that trust that cannot be built quickly and speedily through technological means, but rather is fostered over time through presence, being, and steadfast love.
We are in an age of disconnection.
We are in an age of disconnection, but I am certain that everyone longs for a beautiful friendship like Anne and Diana's. (Men, feel free to insert your own example here). We are in an age of disconnection, but we long for connection and relationship. We are in an age of disconnection, and yet we are wired for connection.
So...how do we get that connection? How can we have those relationships rooted in such a deep trust? How can we deepen the connectivity in our relationships, our friendships?
Tune in next time for some answers (or at least my thoughts).
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