Dear All,
While I hear of the latest news of more coming job cuts from other big
companies, I’m so glad to learn of few people trying to call and check
on their friends that so happen to work on those companies. Often,
it’s in desperate situations that you will find true friends!
I remember reading an article on why the “bars” in America are doing
well. They found out that in a bar, people talk about anything and
they usually don’t care. The bar flourishes not because most people
are alcoholics, but because the human hearts have these basic desires
– to know and be known, to care and be cared, to love and be loved!
The “bar” can be a place of imitation: dispensing liquor instead of
care; escape rather than reality! So many seeking a temporary relief
at a price of a few glasses!
The fact is, we all need friends! We need people that will listen,
appreciate and even help us especially in times of need. I think that
one of the best investments you will ever make in your life will not
be a financial one, but rather the investment made in relationships.
You see, your job won’t take care of you when you are in trouble or
sick. Your friends will! So, stay in touch. Life is too short to waste
time hating anyone. Someone said, we need to learn to make peace with
the past so it won’t mess up the present…
“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their
work. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man
who falls and has no one to help him up!” –Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
Now, you may have a lot of people in your life. You may wonder, “How
can I tell the difference between acquaintances and friends.” That’s
easy. I learned by experience that when you get into trouble, the
people that are still around are your real friends, and there may not
be as many left as you would have thought.
We all know that one reality of life is that when we encounter a lot
of people they send our emotional gauge either to go up or go down.
Some people may drain us down, but there are other people that when we
spend time with them, our emotion gauge goes all the way up. In other
words, some are encouragers while some are discouragers. Which one
characterizes you?
In building relationships, one important lesson I learned: whatever
people think of you is none of your business. Just enjoy the ride as
you can. Realizing that life is like a school and you are there to
learn and pass all the tests. That problems and challenges are simply
part of the curriculum that appear and fade away (maybe like physics
or algebra classes!) but the lessons you learn will last for a
lifetime!
But real friends will never stab you in the back; in fact they will
help guard your back. A true friend never puts up with gossip about
their friends. Here’s what I know., real friends want to see us
continue to grow. They cry when we cry and they laugh when we laugh.
The not so true friends will do otherwise: they will laugh when you
cry, and will cry when you laugh…
The Bible says, “… But there is a friend who sticks closer than a
brother.” (Proverbs 18:24). So let me close by inviting you to let
JESUS CHRIST be your best Friend. There are some very important
reasons to do so. First, He deserves to be your best Friend because
He already knows you better than anyone else! One definition of a true
friend is someone who knows all about us and likes us anyway. Well, no
one better fulfills that qualification than Him! Second, He deserves
to be your best Friend because He had done more for you than anyone
else, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life
for his friends.” (John 15:13). Third, He deserves to be your best
Friend because He will always be there when you need Him! (Hebrews
13:5).
Remember that you are so blessed to be stressed … in this life, we all
need the True Best Friend!
Get a Life,
-p.a. <
