Friendship

I lost a friend today.  She was rushed to the hospital yesterday morning and those of us who called her friend spent at least 30 hours praying hard for her healing.  We didn't get the answer we hoped for.  It was her time to go, I suppose.

I never met her in person, we have been friends on facebook for several years, drawn together by our common love of dachshunds.  I don't think we even talked on the phone together, but we chatted on facebook often enough.  She lived in a different City and State than I.

She went through a terrible trauma a couple years ago, and I did my best to support her.  She has been on my daily prayer list for quite some time.  Now I'll be praying for her husband and children.

Social media has brought friendship to a new dimension.  It is possible to be good friends with someone you have never met.  But I really wish I had gotten the pleasure and privilege of meeting her in person.

I think death brings a of of unanswered questions.  I wonder, was I a good enough friend?  Did I support her and pray for her enough?  She was selling Tupperware and asked a couple times if I needed or wanted any.  I have enough to last me a lifetime so I said no.  Now I wish I had bought some from her.  Was I a bad friend because I didn't?  Was there something she needed from me that I was too blind to see?  Should I have talked to her more?

I doubt I'll ever know the answer to those questions, but I am very hard on myself so I will probably chastise myself for a long time.  I just ask my Lord to help me become more sensitive to others around me and those I interact with on Facebook.