Friends Through Thick and Thin

Life has its ups and downs. As we grow up we learn that the world and what goes on in it is not always rosy.   When we become adults we take on more responsibilities and have pressures from home, work, family, and friends that can weigh us down. If I was not a Christian, I would say that the world is pretty dismal. There are wars and famines and poverty. Yet, as a Christian I have a different perspective-knowing that Christ is my anchor and although things around me falter I can thrive through Him. I am thankful for the friends that have stuck with me through thick and thin. The ones that I made when I was young and have since moved away from physically, yet we still keep in touch. I know I can count on them if I need them. I am also thankful for the ones that God brought into my life for a short while for a specific reason. Different friends have brought out different positive character qualities in me and for that I am thankful. 

Proverbs 18:24

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

You can always make new friends. Just reach out to someone and show them you care. You will have different levels of friends and that can be a great thing as well. You may have ones you only see once a year but you still keep in touch. You may have friends that you love to get together in a group and you share a lot of similar likes. Then you will have a few close friends with whom you can share your heart. Treasure all your friendship. Don't treat any of them lightly because a friendship is a pressure gift.

We constantly need to be stretched and challenged to continue our love for Christ and desire to share Him with those around us. Friends should bring out the best in us. They will be happy for us when something wonderful happens. They will cry with us when we go through a valley. They will drop everything to go through a crisis with us. There are friends that even when you are miles apart, you can pick up the phone and continue a conversation just as if you hadn't stopped talking-I love that! Being a friend takes commitment and time and sometimes sacrifice, but the rewards are so worth it. We are to be examples of Christ and that means being selfless.

We need to be a positive friend. Cheer, encourage, one day at a time, and lift up the one that is sad or discouraged. There isn't anyplace for negativity or selfishness in a friendship-it isn't Christlike and it doesn't do anyone any good. 

Proverbs 27:17

"As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

John 15:13

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends."

The three girls in the picture are my daughter and her girlfriends and they are a wonderful example of true friends to me. I think that they will still be laughing together 60 years from now as they roll down the halls of the nursing home together! ;)