Have you ever thought about how you make friends?  We make friends at school, at work, at church, sometimes where we shop, at sports events, etc.  People make friends anywhere at any time – it seems to be our nature to want to know others.  I think this is a good thing.  But as in anything else, for friendships to really have any added value to our lives, we must have more than just an acquaintance-type-relationship of knowing their name, or just recognizing their face from work or a ball game, or just living in our neighborhood.  Do you see what I’m saying?  A true friendship carries within it a knowing of a person; a love and concern or care for them, and of course respect.

Now I realize we may not always want to share every deep personal aspect of our lives with everyone, but we should all have a close friend, or two or three, that we are comfortable enough with to reach out to for help when we are going through difficult times.  I do believe this is why God has given us such a desire for friends; so we don’t have to be alone during those specific times.  Notice I say “we don’t” and not that “we won’t”.   The choice is up to each of us just how close our friendships will be.  The choice is up to us whether or not our friends are there to help.  We shouldn’t always think or believe that they should know we need help – that’s pride.  And at the same time we should not be afraid to offer help or to ask if we can be a help.  Friendships are all about communication. 

We have friends with different personalities and interests and that enriches our lives.  When we view them as gifts and blessings from God we see even more value in them.  We realize God has placed them in our lives to help us grow and reach our fullest potential that He has placed in us and likewise we should also be doing the same for them.

Your have probably heard it said, as I have, “If you want friends, you must be a friend”.  In other words, make yourself available to be a friend.  Reach out and say “hi” to begin a friendship and if it develops, then continue to keep in contact with each other.  The more communication we have with each other the closer our friendship grows.   

Proverbs 18:24 states, “A man that has friends must show himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother”.   

In my opinion there is no one closer to me as a friend than my Savior Jesus Christ.  He is awesome!  He listens (even when I complain some), He comforts and heals me when I’ve been hurt, and He is always with me, He never forsakes me, and He has great wisdom for me when I need to make a decision.

I realize this is a short post this week; and in no way have I exhausted the subject of friends, but I do hope it has helped you in some way.  So I encourage you to think how you could make some new friends, and make the friendships you have now even better.  Pray for your friends; we all can use more revelation of God’s love for us.

Have a great week.