Friendship

This evening I got to thinking about "friends". 1. What makes a person a friend, 2. Why we need friends, and 3. How to keep our friendships healthy. I am not an authority on friendships; however, I can answer these questions from my own perspective. First, "What makes a person a friend"? I believe that you have to start with basics. I think we all have been in a situation where we have to start from the begining. A common saying is "To have a friend, you must be a friend". I think that is pretty good advise. It puts a person in the frame of mind that they need to reach out and show someone they care. However; what if the person you reach out to shows themselves as unavailable. I think the human thing is to become defensive, but maybe the fact that they are unavailable says more about them, than you. There are numberous things out there that people are trying to accomplish in life; from the mandane to complex, and I think it means that maybe they are not in a position to be a friend. Therefore at that crossroads; look for someone that has said "hello" to you. :)
My second question is "Why do we need friends"? Frist, I don't think it's a mystery that we all need companionship in forms of friends. Even at the begining God recognized this by saying in Genisis 2:18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." and again in Exodus 18:18 "You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone". There is a particularly good passage in Job. Job 2:11-13 Three of Job's friends heard of all the trouble that had fallen on him. Each traveled from his own country—Eliphaz from Teman, Bildad from Shuhah, Zophar from Naamath—and went together to Job to keep him company and comfort him. When they first caught sight of him, they couldn't believe what they saw—they hardly recognized him! They cried out in lament, ripped their robes, and dumped dirt on their heads as a sign of their grief. Then they sat with him on the ground. Seven days and nights they sat there without saying a word. They could see how rotten he felt, how deeply he was suffering. After reading this passage I would say that Job had 3 great friends!
My third and final question is "How to keep friendships healthy"? That's a big question and I believe that you truely have to seek God's authority if there is a question in your mind, or heart. Use common sense and don't be scared to talk about your concerns with God and your friend(s). And if it's truely a problem, seek wise counsel. Look to your local church for help.
In conclusion I found a cute site to share. Here is a link...
http://www.dobhran.com/greetings/GRinspire142.htm . From one friend to another, you may want to make sure your volume settings are turned down a bit ...;)

Grace and Peace to you!

Heather

It's A New Day!

I am up early enough to see the sun rise this morning. Rarely, a willing event, but today I am w-i-d-e awake and ready! As I was fixing breakfast this morning I realized that the last time I remember seeing the sun rise was about 19 years ago! My cousin and I had gotten up around 5am climbed up a butte in Eastern Washington and watched. She was from Denmark, so everything in the United States was either a new experience, or brought a new meaning for her. So, today I took a picture. I am going to make a point not to wait another 19 years!

Heather