Five Minute Friday: Friend

I'm joining Lisa-Jo Baker once again, for Five-Minute-Friday with the writing prompt: 

Friend...

Good friends are hard to come by. And to be honest, I haven't learned the art well myself of being a good friend.

I remember a time in early adulthood when I didn't have really any trusted friends; lots of acquaintances, people I hung out with, and those I trusted before I really knew. Yet not one that I could spill my heart out to, cry with or come away from feeling built up and renewed.

My friendships, throughout my young adult years had been highly one-sided or very superficial.

And then about the time I started trusting God with different aspects of my life, was the time that I prayed for friends. Specific friends. A friend I could belly laugh with. A friend I could talk with about life and faith. A friend I could pray with.

True, authentic friends.

And God heard those prayers, because isn't that what he wants for us? Relationships that build us up, that encourage us to be who we were intended to be, that draw us closer to him?

I am blessed now with friends that I can share my weaknesses with, cry with, pray with, laugh with, read scripture with, analyze with, serve with.

Each individual friend I see as a gift.

Friendship is not about being apart of clique or a club. It's not even about how alike two people or ten people are. It is about sharing in our differences, loving through our trials, carrying each others burdens and building one another up. always.

It's forgiving when one does not invest well, overlooking offenses, and releasing expectations.

True friendships are simply a gift. They are not to be hoarded, manipulated or trampled on.

 And if you're not sure you've got that kind of friend in your life. Pray for that friendship. specifically.

I'm still learning how to invest well in my friendships. Life with family is busy. Yet the beauty of those friends God has put in my life, over the last ten years, is that they do forgive, they do understand, they don't hoard nor do they expect.

A good friend–a true friend, is a gift.