The Bible says; “Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble”<\/b> (Proverbs 17:17, The Message). We may have scores of acquaintances, colleagues, and associates but if we have even one true friend we are gifted indeed.<\/p>\n
The real friend is the one whom we can call in the middle of the night in an emergency. It is the one who listens to our stories over and over, but acts like they are hearing them for the first time. A true friend keeps a confidence, defends our motives and character to others, cheers our success and feels just about as bad as we do when we fail.<\/p>\n
Time and distance don’t seem to affect real friendships. It can be years between contacts, but time melts away when we speak again. It is as if we just talked yesterday; we fall right back into deep conversation from the heart. We feel valued and accepted.<\/p>\n
True friendship deepens when the relationship encounters rough waters. Caring enough to work through conflict produces a toughness that permanently cements the friends together.<\/p>\n
Now look over the field of all your relationships, and I have a question for you. I’m not going to ask you if you have a real friend. My question is: are YOU a real friend to someone else? There is a saying that to have a friend you have to be a friend. More than superficial niceties, friendship offered requires honest sacrifice and hard work. That’s why real friends are so rare. But that’s what friends are for!<\/p>\n
Try this audio version<\/strong><\/p>\n\n