How do you measure true friendship? Is it someone that is loyal, or has been a friend for years? Is a true friend someone who is there for you, no matter what? Or are they someone who has similar interests, enjoys what you enjoy, or has similar hobbies? Maybe you have different kinds of friends. You may have work friends, family friends, and school friends. Some of your friends may be neighbors or sit next to you in church. Maybe your friends are people you have met along your path of life, or had a mutual friend and that’s how it all started.
We have apps to update our friends and we have electronic tools to communicate with them. We ‘hear’ from them on our phones and post what we are doing to ‘stay in touch’. I have lots of electronic friends, yet the ones I love and cherish the most can be counted on one hand. They are the people I could call and ask for help, and they would come running. My true friends are the ones I can call to vent, to share, to cry, or to be disgusted and they would listen. These people are the ones I could call to help fix a flat tire, and they would show up with a cookie to make me feel better while we change the tire.
Friendship is not just about having a friend, it is about being a friend. To have one you have to be one. It may mean time, or energy, or revealing who you really are so they know you and can feel safe sharing themselves. Being a friend means knowing with the other person needs and doing it, even if it makes you uncomfortable. It means crying when they cry, laughing when they laugh, and knowing when to kick them in the fanny to urge them to be a better version of themselves.
So how many true friends do you have? What kind of friend are you? Give thanks today for your friends, for being a friend, and take time to send them thanks for being in your life.
Ann Art Gallery Blog 