The wounds of a friend

Have you ever noticed that the physical pain inflicted by someone you love and trust, hurts less? Our 5 year old crawled in bed with us the other night. I turned over and elbowed him pretty hard. I immediately grabbed him and apologized profusely. I knew how much it must have hurt.
" I am OK mommy, I'm OK.." he kept saying.

I don't understand this completely but I know that the Bible says that a wound of a friend can be trusted. So what exactly does that mean? Does it hurt less when a friend hurts you? It seems to me that the most hurts in my life have come from friends. Because I have allowed them to get so close, they have a straight shot at my heart. I do know that if someone hurts me and I know that they are not going to leave me, the pain is lessened. However, if I am afraid they will abandon me... their wounds really hurt.

I am still processing all of this.

Community

Our 18 month old likes to be in the backyard. We have a lot of room for him to run and play, but there are many things that could injure him. So... we try to keep him close to the big kids when he is outdoors. From the time he realized he could go, he has gone. He tries to leave our yard. He has been very curious. As soon as we open the back door, he tries to take off. However, I have seen a change in the last few days. Maybe it is a result of all the "no's", or a result of all the injuries inflicted by leaving the safety of his big siblings fellowship. For whatever reason, he has been playing close to them. It is a beautiful thing. No one has to chase him around, he doesn't get in trouble, he has his siblings to play with, his risk of getting hurt is much smaller. It is good. I am thankful that he is being to appreciate the value of fellowship, community.