Would you believe that the more I blog, the more that I think of to write about? One of the reasons I didn't blog was lack of ideas. Now it seems each day brings more ideas than I can handle. The key issue for me is in making the time to write. The last few days lean heavily toward the hectic category of life. One of the really fun things these days is my daughter having her friends over after school. Just today there were at least five extra kids here at some point. They are noisy, messy and usually hungry! Yes, that indicates there were teenagers in the house. I think I am the Kool Aid dad around here.

One of the main reasons that I stay here is due to her friends. They do have a great time it seems. The dad in me is thrilled to see her making good friends. My hope is she can hold onto them over the years when high school is over. That wasn't true for me. I didn't see some of my graduating friends from the night of the ceremony until the 25th reunion. Geography, school and family just took me in a much different direction. There aren't even many from college that I stay in touch with. Part of it is surely my fault. Some of it is the nature of the job. Some of it just happened along the way.

Even now, making friends is not easy. You have to remember that I am not a human being. I am a minister. We are aliens much like Mr. Spock. There are few places or people where you can just let go and be yourself. Others don't want to run the risk of seeing the human side of the clergy. Then there are others who do tend to bring out the all too human side of the minister. Someday perhaps all of this will meet in the middle. Let me share with you a secret about ministers. We tend not to become friends with other clergy or at least not in a large number. There is a hidden and jealous side of us that can infiltrate even the best of professional relationships. Over the years I saw guys seek to use one another more than understand each other. We usually don't want you to know this but it is still true.

This post is not about self pity for the nature of friendships. It is just one of the hazards we come to realize as the years go by. Nor do I wish you to think I do not recognize or feel ungrateful for those who do try to accept my humanity. I do and I thank those who try. The real point is about how teenage girls can just be together with no demands but to share the joy. It is about the laughter that I get to hear when the house is full. It is about the off key singing in my truck when taking them to a game out of town. It is about the truth that the simplest and best gifts of life are truly free. That would be friendship...and the blog!

Bro. Trey