So MANY FRIENDS

Facebook says I have 545 friends today.
Really???
A couple of times a year, I go look at my friends and spend at least an hour deleting people. Mostly they are summer staff or work crew kids that have requested to be my "friend" and I don't have the heart to say no. But a few months later, I will delete them because to me, they really aren't my friend.
I mean how can someone be my friend that I hardly know?

This morning I got to thinking about "friends". And what that means.

Dictionary.com has this definition:

friend

1. a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2. a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter.

3. a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile.

I again realized that there are many differnt kinds of friends.

Casual Friends:

These people are the ones who you might have just met and think they could be someone would like to get to know better. They also might be people that you've known for awhile but it is a friendship that is very much surface level.

The depth hardly scratches any surface.

Fun Friends:

These are the people you enjoy just being with.

You have fun together, whether it be having a mutual hobby that you do together, or that you are beginning to make memories with.

Good Friends:

These are the people in your life that you begin to share your life with and they do the same with you.

You begin to help each other out when the need arises.

You've spent time with them individually and in groups.

You have memories galore.

For me, this is where I share spiritual insights and look forward to them sharing the same with me

Then there are the friends that I am going to call the Inner Circle.

I have about ten women who are my Inner Circle. These are my friends who have seen me at my best and loved me still-at my worst. My Inner Circle has been there for me in the darkest, toughest times in my life. These dear ladies are the ones I can be real and honest with. I have shared my deepest thoughts and fears with these friends. I know when I tell any of these women something so personal, that I have their confidence it will not be shared. They may be disappointed in me at times, but they have never deserted me. they have loved me and supported me for 30-35 years. 

These amazing gals have stood with me when my dad left this earth, when my sons literally couldn't stand me, through very difficult times with my daughter. But they have celebrated with me in the marriages of my girls, the birth of grandbabies, travelling for birthday celebrations. They have been my rock and support. I seriously cannot imagine my life here without them.

 And then there are my girls. Those younger friends who I became acquainted with through Young Life.  Oh, these gals have given me tremendous blessings upon blessings. They are my friends and I'm not sure where they fit on my so called friends category list, but I love them and am thankful for the gifts of their friendship.

545 Friends?? I'm not sure they are all friends.

But I am ever so grateful for the ONES that I know are.

Thank you Susan, Sue, Karen, Beckie, MK, Ruth, Sandy, Diana, June and Jean....(in no particular order.)