I have in the first month of this year attended two funerals. One for a friend who was a few years older than myself, and who had lost a five year battle with cancer, and the other for a friend’s child who died full-term in the womb of his young mother. Both were sad events, but we were all comforted by the fact that we know that both now reside in heaven.
Apart from the services that were both amazingly beautiful ceremonies, I was moved by the richness of the friendships that were evident at both, along with the communication and support that surrounded each of the events.
Friendship is so important if we’re ever to live a rich life. Without true friends – those whom we can depend on in both the good and the not so good times – we are poor indeed.
Friends provide us the support we need. They gird us and they goad us. They draw out the best and encourage us to be better. They provide the strength in our weakness and the light in our darkness.
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Some people spend their entire lives developing a legacy that can be passed onto future generations when they are dead and gone. I see the value of that in one sense, but may I suggest that it is far better to develop a heritage that can be enjoyed by both you and your offspring while you are still alive?
One of my open secrets as a parent was to develop businesses that I could operate with the aid of my children.
So today, after spending four hours with my family working on our business, and not simply in it, revealed to me yet again as to how rich I am at my current stage of parenting.
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What is it that makes an old shoe so attractive?
Comfort is the first word that comes to mind. Another is a knowledge that the shoe has travelled along a similar road as yourself, and so therein lies a sense of relatability and understanding.
What a joy to be able to sit in the company of another without uttering a word, and yet knowing each others thoughts. There is no need to impress, no need to boast and no need to prove anything at all.
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I met up today with some friends whom I hadn’t seen for probably five years.
The amazing thing though was that we just simply picked up from where we’d left off. They had an additional member in their young family and the baby that we met five years earlier was now a happy little young lady and their eldest, who had been a young boy at the time, was growing now into a strapping young man.
Friendship warms my heart. It’s a joy. Time doesn’t tarnish it. Age doesn’t decay it. True friendships last and last and last.
But the most important thing about this friendship is that it has been built on complete honesty and love.
Nearly fifteen years ago, when the friendship first began, I had to confront my friend about some issues that he was involved in that could have ultimately harmed his life. I cared enough for him that I was willing to risk losing his friendship by speaking openly and honestly. It was tough. It was hard. It was direct, but it was said in a spirit of love and respect.
That is why I believe our friendship is still strong and will continue to last throughout the ages that lie ahead.
We now inspire each other and we encourage each other. And time has not interfered with our deepening friendship and respect that now embraces the growing families that we both now have.
