There are few things more important in life as having a good friend. They are hard to come by. Once upon a time I had an employer inform me that my coworkers were not my friends, they are coworkers, and I was told very plainly not to confuse the two. Unfortunately he was right. Thanks for trying to warn me. I get it now. One of my brothers also once said, “People are inheritantly s@&tty. They have always been s…y and they will always be s…y. Don’t expect otherwise.” While these thoughts have totally depressed me I must admit there is merit to the unfortunate wisdom here. 

Ever been to the grocery store to buy some milk and witnessed some horrible excuse of a parent tell there kid to sit the —down and shut the —- up and what a dumb — they are? Do we really wonder why these kids turn out to be untrustworthy and have little regard for others? What are we teaching them?! 

After all the drama on tv, the out pouring of evil, and the inexcusable way we have treated everything that should be holy even to people who don’t know God, do you ever wonder if there are people left who are worthy of being called friend? I have asked myself that same question. 

Lots of people like dogs. Some love dogs or cats or some critter. Have you ever wondered why people get so attached to animals? Could it be that animals are occasionally better listeners? They don’t tell your secrets? They love you just for the si ole action of showing up? Wow, that really looks like the beginnings of a great definition of a friend. 

I have had some great friends in my time. People who were there for me. Folks I knew I could call if something went wrong. In 2011 a tornado hit our home. The number of people who showed up with tools and food and helping hands was astonishing. We had people moving debre and others fixing fences. They were here without even being called. It was amazing. I’ve even had friends call me out of the blue saying they just had a feeling they needed to check on me and cover me with prayer when they had no idea how badly I truly needed it. When the resssion hit we were rolling quarters just to buy milk for our four kids and with no warning someone drove up and handed me five hundred dollars to help make ends meet. I have seen the best and worst of people. Both extremes always shock me. 

Can you imagine how great it would be if we all did a better job of listening, keeping secrets, and showing others that we love them without provocation? I’m not saying we should all act like dogs. I don’t even give much love to those little sayings like, “God please help me to be as good a person as my dog thinks I am.” What I am saying is maybe each of us could try a little harder to love our neighbor as ourselves. Who is my neighbor? That question was answered thoroughly already. Why am I posting about it? Because I have been so blessed in my life that I have some of the most amazing friends a girl could imagine. A best friend who knows me better than I know myself. Someone I can trust with anything and everything. Someone who without a word knows exactly what I need. It’s not the dog in the pic up there either. He’s great and I love him dearly but he is not where I go when I need to pour out my heart and get good advice. If I had to put a real reason behind this message it is to say thank you. 

Thank you to those brace souls who love me. Thank you to the lunatics who consider me worthy to be called friend. Thank you to God himself for surrounding my heart with all the love I could ask for. I hope I manage to give something back to you. 

We will always be surrounded by the best and worst of humanity. My advice to you, find someone who can hold your heart without causing you fear. Then do your best to be worthy of that gift. And please, choose wisely.