The Way The Roses Smelled

A wise man once told me "life friends are the friends that stick with you through thick and thin. They're the ones you want with you when bad things happen, and you can always count on them, no matter what." That was my pastor, Pastor Bob Martz.

He's right you know, and I'm not just saying that because he's a godly teacher; I really agree with him. You all know I've had my fair share of hardcore life troubles, namely, the death of my best friend in '09. In that time, all the people who I had been pretty good friends with in choir became my really good friends. Some of them I considered like my family, and a few of them, I considered... priceless. Literally magnificent. The bond between us was tighter than anything you can imagine. It was amazing.

I'm not bragging about the great relationship I have with my friends, and I'm also not playing victim just cause my friend died a couple years ago. Bear with me, I do have an excellent point here.

Time has a habit of continuing, and in my story, that's no exception. As the sun kept rising and falling, our bond began to strain a little.
The first example of that I can think of is when I heard my mother and my best friends mom talk about how our get togethers could be called Hugfest 2009. I was beyond offended at the time, but now I see their point. We kind of got a little carried away with the hugs, but hey, it was a rough time.
As time continued, some of our parents began placing some limitations on our interaction, and thats where it hit the fan. The bond that me and my friends had made had been officially threatened and challenged by our parents, and we resisted. in vain. Again, I'm not being critical of my or my friends' parents. I'm just talking. I'll explain shortly. After we started seeing each other less frequently, and doing the whole Hugfest thing less frequently, we started to drift a lot. Our family bond returned to friendship and we resumed to take each other for granted. Of course, there's a lot of drama and emotional stuff that went into that, but long story short, nothing changed.
2.5 years later, what changed? Excellent question. I started asking myself that a little bit in the spring, and the question grew a lot. I began asking myself how I lost control over the relationships I had with a few certain people. I hopped on facebook and over the days and weeks, waited to see a particular two people on chat. Eventually did, and apologized to them, and asking how hard it would be to restore the relationship we had before. Both said we should give it a go. One meant it, one didn't. The one that did, we didnt get a long for very long. So now you ask yourself the same question, how did Cameron's friendships change at all over these last two years? Answer: sadly, they haven't much. Of all the close friends I had the summer of '09, there's one I'm completely comfortable talking with about anything. We don't talk much, but when we do, it's like we never skipped a beat. But for all the others, I still love them all to death. I'd still be willing to talk to them on the phone as they tell me their problems. I only wish that was still mutual. And here's the other thing, guys. Actions do truly speak louder that words. I can say all the right things here, but that doesn't mean anything. There's one close friend that I let down. It was awful, and I didn't really realize it til about 8 months later. I can say how much I care about that person, and I do, SO much, but that doesnt even start to repair the bridge of trust I burned.

Do you see where Im getting at? Life friends are the hardest to keep. They require a lot of time and attention, and it doesn't seem worth it, but trust me, when you're feeling lonely and there's no one to talk to about your life, those friends you blew off suddenly become reeeeeeaaaal important. Trust me.

I hope this post isn't making anyone sad. I just realize how depressing Im being, especially if you part of the whole Wyatt thing. That's not my goal at all, but this is a sobering topic. Here's my tip to you. If you have an important friend in your life, keep him/her there, even when you fight, which you will if you're close. Even when they're annoying. Always. Someday, you'll regret your decision to replace the position of "best friend" with someone who seemed more tolerable. You can't replace a faithful and loving friend. They're too precious to be traded out.

Last question: is Cameron friendless? Answer: nope. I have friends. Quite a few. Life friends? Eh, maybe 4 at the moment. Idk. I expect to gain and lose friends all throughout my life. As for just keeping in touch, that's what facebook is for. For keeping my life friends close, that's what the speed dial presets on my phone are for.

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." (Proverbs 17:17 KJV)

10 days behind.

My apologies, my wonderful 8 followers.

I got caught up in the whole "back to school" thing as well as attempting to make progress in my Eagle Project, so I have broken my promise to blog twice a week, post a picture, once a month, and probably the video thing too. But hey, there's always new hope for September, right? 

You're bored now, so we'll change the subject. I want to post a little something that I've been thinking about, and that's both the delicate importance of life, as well as the establishment of government, society, and those sorts of things. The main factor that really got me thinking about these things actually happens to be an amazing tv show called Jericho. The show is about a sudden nuclear attack that effectively wipes out the entire US. government in a matter of minutes. As the show progresses, panic spreads through the small town of Jericho, Kansas, when people realize they're on their own. It makes you think as multiple scenarios appear challenging the town's sense of ethics and moral character, and new governments emerge claiming to be the US Federal government, but slowly turn the area into a dictatorship run by the strongest groups of people in the area. It's a show about survival. One line in the show really captures the show "This will not only be a battle for our survival, but for our humanity." When the town nearly runs out of food, should the town administration ration food to certain people, or equally distribute the remaining food to everyone, causing the whole town to starve? Watching the show, any scenario like that seems so distant from our life, where all we have to worry about is getting our homework done before Monday morning, or trying to remember to set the alarm clock for 7am for the following workday. The fact is, everyday, everyone has the opportunity to make a small impact on somebody else's life. Unfortunately, most people, myself included, don't realize that, and treat others well based on how they feel at the time, not on what is Biblically and morally correct. 

I just realized that I'm probably not making very much sense. Let me try this again.

I've realized that I pay too much attention to myself. When I die, I don't want to have invested in my own life as much as I have invested in God's kingdom, and his people. Earlier today while I was reading my history book, I read a section that I posted as my Facebook status: "Fundamentally, we are not American, Canadian, or Chinese, we are humans; children of Adam, creatures of God." I love that line so much. I feel like whenever I do think outside of myself, I still think inside a box, either my dear friends, my church friends, or if I think really large: America. But the world? All of creation? It's a much larger picture, almost too large, however, I feel like it's one that God's called his people to impact.  In Genesis, God tells Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply, and take dominion over the Earth. Be fruitful. Fast-forward in the Bible a few dozen books, and you'll find the Great Commission, which is almost like Episode Two of the Genesis command. "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

How dare we ignore that command. I remember a dude named Jonah who tried to ignore a command from God.. and he got eaten alive. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go on a cruise in the Caribbean someday and get eaten by some freaky huge fish. If you've ever cracked open Psalms, you've probably read something about how important it is for people to listen to those in authority, whether that's a parent, government, or God himself. Let's try to do that, shall we? 

I know I've wandered majorly from my opening statement about how we should value others and know I'm presenting a lecture on the importance of obedience. In fact, this just might be the most unorganized blog post of all time. However, I'm just trying to make the point that I'm personally sickened at how selfish I can be. It's something I'm working on, and I think you should too. Regardless of what he did to little kids, Michael Jackson kind of got the picture. Just listen to Man in the Mirror. 

"If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make a change."

December 31st, 2009.. Oh well.

Today is the last day.


of 2009. Then comes 2010. great. cool. blah. Who cares? All that happens is we get to sit around with friends/family and celebrate how another day the same as yesterday is coming.. and that's supposed to be important? I don't get it personally. "Happy New Year!!" You'll probably hear that a couple hundred times today. What does it imply? "Congradulations, you get a new start. Try to make the 365 overall good. Then you can... do it again." Thrilling, really. Okay, so don't get me wrong, I like celebrating stuff. I like sitting around with friends and family. But here's my point: if you're gonna do this "happy new year" thing, make it what it needs to be. Make the next 365 days something you can be proud of. Make them count. Start creating a legacy of your own, starting now, then carry it on throughout the next year. and the next. and so on and so on.. Again, don't misunderstand me. Don't make a list of things to do as your "new years resolution" because everyone knows that it's not going to last much more than a week. Dedicate yourself to what you love and protect it. Care for it. Make this year count. Don't just make it "another year" or look forward to this one just because 2009 sucked. Maybe it did, and maybe you really just want your fresh start, but even if you are, make. it. count. Do something! Don't just watch the news channel as the lights in New York City flash really bright and people are kissing in the streets. Make this year glorious. Carpe Diem: Sieze the day

A brother in Christ,
Cameron J. Clark