This article is courtesy of HomeLife.

“Happy New Year!” you say, greeting the friend you haven’t seen in months. “How are you? I can’t believe it’s been so long!”

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 “We really should try to get together more,” she replies.

“Yes — let’s do lunch next week!”
  
No sooner do the words escape your mouth than you remember all the things you have to accomplish in the next several days. You were caught up in the moment. It was a holiday party. “Auld Lang Syne” was playing in the background. Why did you suggest such a thing?

Maybe it’s because Proverbs 17:17 says a friend loves at all times — and don’t we all need a little more of that in our lives? With marriage, parenting, work, and church commitments, staying connected with friends can be challenging; but it’s important to make time for relationships that really matter.

We need friends because God created us to be in relationship with people. Friends are those people who love us by choice and journey with us through both the good times and the hard times of life.

Maybe you’ve let some friendships lapse over time, and you’d like to reconnect. If that’s one of your resolutions this year, here are several ways to make time for important relationships:

Be Realistic
“First, you have to be realistic about how much time you have available. Then you need to commit to making time for your friends,” says Dr. Jan Yager, author of Friendshifts®: The Power of Friendship and How It Shapes Our Lives (Hannacroix Creek Books).

Yager also advises not trying to invest major amounts of time in every friend on your Christmas card list. If you do, you’ll start diffusing the intimacy you share with the friends who are most important to you. Once you’ve determined which friendships you want to rejuvenate, take active steps. These five tips can put you on the path to meaningful reconnection:

1. Call just to say hello. Don’t wait for disasters or monumental moments to dial the important people in your life. Find 20 minutes for a “just because” phone call every week.

2. Make birthdays a big deal. Celebrating birthdays together will guarantee at least two days each year for special friendship time. Go out to your favorite restaurant, celebrate with tickets to a movie, or go shopping at a nearby mall.

3. Choose neutral locations for get-togethers. Don’t always meet in each other’s homes; then you won’t have the pressure to get your places organized, decorated, or spotless before you can spend time together.

4. Be flexible. Understand that your friends have obligations and unexpected situations that may prevent them from keeping a date with you. Show your friends the same understanding you’d expect.

5. Return calls quickly. If a friend calls and leaves you a message, do your best to return that call within 24 hours. This communicates the friendship is important to you.

Reach Out
Liz H. Kelly, a Los Angeles-based author, has adopted a no-fear attitude about reconnecting with old friends.

“Even if I have not talked with someone in 10 or 20 years,” she says, “I will not hesitate to call.”

When Kelly relocated from Baltimore to Los Angeles, she called a high school friend she hadn’t seen in 10 years who was also living in Los Angeles. That friend helped her adjust to a new city by introducing her to several people during her first week in town.

Real friends are friends for life, so don’t be afraid to reach out.

“True friendships do last the test of time,” says Terri Levine, author of Work Yourself Happy (Lahaska Press), who helps others balance their careers and personal lives. “These are people you may speak to or write to only at Christmastime, yet a 10-year absence is nothing when you meet up again.”

“Part of planning for a balanced life is making time for friends,” Levine adds. “Without the outlet that friendships provide, our lives would be narrow and unsatisfying.”

So make time today for those relationships that really matter. Mail a card. Make a call. Send an e-mail. Write a letter. Friendships are worth your time and energy. Connecting with friends is one New Year’s resolution that’s definitely worth keeping!

Michelle Medlock Adams is a freelance writer in Fort Worth, Texas.