Welcome my friend! Come on in for a lovely Devonshire Tea.

For today is a special celebration!

I have baked homemade scones, have a pot of strawberry conserve & whipped the cream into snowy peaks for us.

Take a seat & I’ll pour you a cup of tea or coffee, your choice, as I have both.

Please help yourself to the warm scones, strawberry conserve & dollop cream.

Celebrating a Joyous Friendship

You may be wondering what we are celebrating today!

Well this is a special tribute to one of my dearest friends, Joy.

Our friendship spanned forty years & I’d like to share a little bit about our friendship with you today as she recently passed into glory.

Her favourite tea time was Devonshire Tea, so let us enjoy these treats as we sit together!

When it all began

Our friendship began when I was pregnant with my third child.

My young family & I were new to the church where Joy & her young family were attending, as we had just arrived back from an overseas posting.

I can remember the morning I met Joy vividly, it was morning tea time after service, when she walked up to me & said;

“Jennifer, you’re like a breath of fresh air in this place!!

Those words have always meant a great deal to me because it was a few days just before I lost the child I was carrying, my daughter Candy, to stillbirth.

But those words actually described Joy herself as she always brought,

sunshine & joy into any situation!

Our friendship grew from that point.

We had one of those friendships where you just appreciated & loved each other for who the other was!

A friendship that if we didn’t see each other for awhile, as we eventually lived in different parts of the state, we just picked up where we’d left off when we did get together.

And over the years we went through all the ups & downs that life brings, giving each other much needed support, as we could within our own life & family challenges.

True friendships are where we can be honest with each other

True friendships are where we can be honest with each other!

Although, we may not necessarily like what our friend has to say or even see things from their perspective. 

We can learn to love & appreciate their candidacy & concern for us none the less.

Tenacity for Life

Joy was the most tenacious person I have ever known!

She faced every challenge that presented itself to her with a dogged determination to live her life to the full, despite the challenge she faced.

And this could be seen in her last mammoth challenge which was Motor Neurone Disease (MND).

Where she continued to operate her B & B until she couldn’t any longer & her Florist business to the end. 

Friend’s for Life

One year Joy gave me a fridge magnet with a poem on it that was titled Friends for Life.

It stated that those who have shared & laughed with each other as much as we had over the years were definitely friends for life.

And that was Joy & I, we often saw the funnier side of things & had a good ol’ laugh together.

Life changes often without warning

While I knew my dear friend’s health was declining due to MND.

I wasn’t prepared for her to go to glory when she did. So her passing came as a bit of a shock to me.

As we had been in constant contact by texting (as her speech had left her) especially about her recent Heartwrenching news.

Time

I do know that we all have a time when our life will come to it’s end on this planet.

As we’re told in the following scripture,

‘There’s an appointed time for everything… for every event under heaven;

A time to give birth & a time to die.’

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2 Refer II

So we need to be prepared for when our time does come & where we will spend our eternal existence.

Because there is life after death, I know, I’ve been there! As shared HERE

Are you ready dear friend?

No?

Then you may want to go to Prayer now.

Until next time,

Jennifer

You’re most welcome to join me in The Reading Nook

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© 2021 Jennifer M. Ross, teawithjennifer.blog, Second Photo by Jennifer, All Rights Reserved. First photo on pexels.com

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