Half a world away

I count myself blessed with quite an average circle of friends in real life and over the interwebs I have "met" quite a few others that I can call friend as well, some are fellow soldiers from my time in the SADF on our mail-group and others from blogging. Some have been part of my life so long that I know if and when we meet face to face they will be exactly as I picture them, others have revealed their faces and I have been amazed that they look very like I imagined. Others I have eventually had the honour of meeting over a cup of coffee or a cold one, they are now real friends.
It is because we have shared part of our lives over time and countless snippets, sometimes light hearted and other times deep sorrow as they shared a glimpses of their lives.
Some people say one should not give the same value to your online friends as your real friends, but I disagree. The test of any friendship is how well you communicate and empathise with the other person and how you witness them in your life as well as you being a witness in theirs. Because in reality we will meet them all face to face one day.
That is why I thank Moondancer for using something she had on her blog, it was in Afrikaans but is 100% relevant in any language;
How can I pray Our when I live a self centered life, how can I say Father if I am not His child, how can I say Who art in heaven, if I still live an adamic life
How can I pray Hallowed be Thy Name. when I use it as a curse?
How can I pray Thy Kingdom come. when I do not witness.
How can I pray Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. when I want my own way every day
How can I pray Give us this day our daily bread. when I ignore those in need.
How can I pray And forgive us our trespasses, when I still hold grudges
How can I pray as we forgive those who trespass against us. when I cannot forgive others
How can I pray And lead us not into temptation, when I do not give up those desires
How can I pray but deliver us from evil. when I do not acknowledge the power of the Spirit
How can I say Amen. when I do not have childlike faith?

How can I say For thine is the kingdom, when I do not serve Jesus, how can I say and the power, when I let fear rule my life, how can I say and the glory, for ever and ever. when I rule my own life. Amen
By the way this part is not in the original Gospels and I separated it for that reason but I like using it to emphasise God's authority when I pray The Lords Prayer.

This is a poem that I wrote for all those people Half a World Away from me that have touched my life through the years;

I read your words, written half a world away.
I wished I could be there to hug and reassure.
I felt your pain at another lost love.
You painted a picture with your words I could see.
You revealed your sacred duty with words of mirth.
The sound of battle was almost real to me.

Each one of my friends, half a world away.
Read each day, wished well each night.
As the sun rises on my side it sets on yours,
Know that even when your face is unseen,
I appreciate and value your part in my life.

Each one of you, half a world away I pray,
May Angels be with those in jeopardy.
My comfort be with those who have lost,
something or someone, tangible or real.
May you all be witness to each other,
Half a world away, someday we will meet.

So as my circle friends grows and ebbs like the tide I am thankful for each and every one for touching my life and making me a better person, the same way pebbles get shaped in a stream we get shaped by the friends we meet and although some share a brief time with us in the stream others stay nestled up close and slowly become familiar trusted souls on the same adventure of life. Sharing and bearing each other through good and bad times. Always a stone throw away, by phone or e-mail or across the fence. Half a world away...

"The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money." Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), Pudd'nhead Wilson