What is a Friend?

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked.”
Bernard Meltzer


There’s a lot of wisdom in that statement. True friends accept and love us despite all our faults and idiosyncrasies.

Friendships are important to me and I don’t them for granted. Although I live in the Seattle area, there are several friends across the country with whom I keep in contact. We’re able to talk for hours on the phone without feeling any distance or time separating us.

There are writers with whom I’ve become close to. We share common goals and bonds that other people probably can’t understand.

Within my church family, there are people whom I call friends. We invest ourselves in common ministries and activities. I enjoy seeing them and catching up on pieces of our lives.

“Who finds a faithful friend, finds a treasure.” Jewish Saying

Two special friends in my life have indeed become my treasure. Our commonalities bind us together and our differences keep our friendship interesting. We have the freedom to be who we are without fear. Trust is never an issue in our relationship. They are two of the most loyal people I’ve ever met. We tease, we disagree, we support…and we laugh. Actually, we laugh a lot…

“A friend is someone who can sing you the song of your heart when you’ve forgotten it.” Unknown

While hanging out together one evening, we talked about the ebb and flow of life. What we give and receive in our friendship shifts, depending on the need. At any given time, one friend may need to receive while the other two give a little more.

Over the years the three of us have accumulatively experienced: divorce, remarriage, death of a child, death of a parent, unemployment, family members with mental health issues, family members with substance abuse, job change, children’s weddings, children leaving for college, parents dealing with health issues, moving from one home to another… Whew!!!

Be willing to give of yourself. Believe in your friends. Encourage and support them in their dreams and goals. It takes some effort to be in a friendship, but the rewards are so much greater than the work.

“Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” G. Randolf

Someday the three of us will be sitting in our own rockers -
on a porch - our hair gray…

Well…on second thought…let’s eliminate the rockers—and forget about the gray hair. Just look for three feisty, very much alive, young-at-heart women…

May you be blessed with true friends.
Dawn