Friendship

"Constant  use had not worn ragged the fabric of their friendship."
                                                                                   Dorothy Parker

          Do you have a friend you just can't get enough of?  Is there someone who, even though you know them well, you still have a million questions for them because you want to know them better and better?  Does their thinking inspire you and inform you?  Old friend, new friend, renewed friend-it doesn't matter.  What matters is the quality of the relationship.

"I find it shelter to speak to you."
                        Emily Dickenson
 
          Do you have a friend whose very presense is a comfort?  Is there someone in whose love you are so secure that they are a refuge?  Does their every word make you feel valued and protected?  Can you feel their love and concern for you even when they point out things you need to change?
 I Cointhians 13:7 say of love: "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

"Oh, the comfort...of feeling safe with a person--having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are...certain that a fatihful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away."
                                                                                                                                       Dinah Cralk

          There is an inherent vulnerability in friendship when you entrust you heart to someone.  God knew this when he instructed us to "...confess your sins to each other and pray for each other that you may be healed."  (James 5:16)  God forgives but a friend heals.  How deeply we need a healing friendship!
          I am overcome today with gratitude for the friends who supply this love and grace in my life.  You know who you are. 

"...there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  (Proverbs 18:24)