Friendship Is Work!

     Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends for it is one of God’s best gifts.  It involves many things, but above all, the power of getting out of one’s self and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.  A true friend is one who will give you a push when you are stopped, a word of encouragement when you are down, will be a guide when you are searching, will give you a smile when you are sad, and will sing you a song when you are happy. Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life.  Many would have given up and failed if they did not have a friend. 
     A true friend is someone who is there for you when he would rather be somewhere else.  He fills the void in your life. He knows the value of being close.  A friend is someone who can see right through you and still enjoy the show.  Love is blind, but friendship tries not to notice. 
     Mary Catherwood writes: “Two may talk together under the same roof for many years, yet never really meet, and two others at first speech are old friends.”  Friendship is like love…it cannot be hidden. Many will go to an attorney when trouble comes, but true friends treat each other like friends and reconcile their differences. 
     A friend knows what hurts a friend and will avoid going there.  He is considerate of his friend’s emotions; therefore, he strives not to damage their relationship but to sustain it.  A friendship can be long lasting yet so fragile and broken to smithereens in an instant if not treated with respect. 
     I have witnessed the sad moment when a strong friendship went down.  The wrong word was spoken.  A bad attitude developed.  Trust was broken causing a seemingly healthy friendship to end.  There is nothing so devastating!  There is no lonely feeling compared to the breakup of a friendship. 
     Yes, friendship is work, but oh so much fun.  Friendship is a horizon which grows brighter when we approach it with true love.  The older I get the more I believe that nothing in this world equals friendship…that marvelous assurance that everything will be good and above board between two people and nothing will be able to change it. 
     The opposite of friendship is loneliness.  Jesus knew the devastating pain of loneliness; He was abandoned by His disciples, forsaken by His God, while on the cross he cried out loud, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”  Then He died. 
     Marla Paul, a Chicago Tribune columnist writes: “I recently read to my daughter Han Christian Andersen’s The Ugly Duckling.  I felt an immediate kinship with this bird who flies from place to place looking for creatures with whom he belongs.  He eventually finds them.  I hope I do too!  Why do I feel lonely?  Why is it so hard to make good friends?” 
     Albert Schweitzer said, “We are all so much together, but we are all dying of loneliness.” Yes, it is work to make good friends, but so important.  May I remind you that Jesus is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.  For more info you can visit us at www.JoyChristianMinistries.com

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