The Thing About Friendship

       There is nothing like a good friend, except maybe a great friend, or a best friend. Whatever category you place your friend in, it is an amazing feeling to have friends. I can attest to this because I have been blessed with some really great friends in my life. One of the things that I have learned about having friends is that you have to cherish them and the time you get to spend with your friends. Besides your co-workers, most of us spend more time with our friends than we do with our immediate family. I guess that is why our parents spent a good amount of time telling us to "choose our friends wisely" and to "be careful who we call our friends."

      I have also learned that you have to be intentional with your friends. You can not say that you're someone's friend and not show yourself to be a friend or be friendly. Being unable to keep your word is a good way to lose your friendships. In general being dishonest and untrustworthy are sure fire ways to lose relationships with anyone. Treat people how you want to be treated is definitely one of the top rules of friendships. How do you define your friendships? How do you treat your friends?

    The thing about friendships is knowing your friends. Simply knowing them and loving them for who they are and who they are to you. Most of us spend too much time wondering how our friends interact and treat other people; most of us miss out on how good our friends are to us because we are too focused on other people. I am guilty of being jealous of my friends' friends, but when you think about it, don't you want your friends to be loved by others instead of hated? We can't waste time worrying whether or not our friends love and care about us. If we have to wonder then it may be time to evaluate the friendship. I say let us focus on building and maintaining the friendship. Let us make time for our friends. Take every chance we get and love on our friends like there is no tomorrow.

"A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother."- Proverbs 18:24