A Good Friend Will Stay, When Others Walk Away!

It was a funny little greeting exercise this morning during church, tell the person beside you a wise saying you were told by your parents.  I said, "If you don't have anything to say, don't say anything at all!" My husbands was, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  But the beautifully dressed and manicured woman behind me said, "A good friend stays, when others walk away..." Those words struck me square in between the eyes, as I have seen hardship in my forty years, and have had some friends stick around...and others fall by the wayside.  Some maybe were on purpose, some just because life got in the way, some because I couldn't keep up with the "Jones'" anymore...I will never really know, and to be honest, it really doesn't matter.  What does matter, is what or who I should say is left when all else has fallen around you.

My hope is that you haven't seen the hardship and heartache I have in my life, but one thing I know for sure...If my friends are still with me, then they are friends forever.  I often see others who have so many friends it's hard to keep up with them all.  I see people who have friends that, well, bring them down or hold them back.  I have even seen friends that have no earthly idea how to be a good friend to save their lives.  But the true friends are the ones you can share your soul with, call and cry when the words can't even be made sense of, the ones that hurt when you hurt, are elated when you are beyond happy, and feel sorrow when you are in the depths of despair.  They are the ones that you rely on most, even if you haven't spoken in days, or even weeks on end.  They may be next door, or many miles may separate you, but they are there the second you need them, whatever the reason.  I am fortunate to have several of these amazing people in my lives.  You know who you are because you know everything about me, the good, the bad, and the ugly, yet you still love me all the same.

If you have friends bogging you down, you can be friendly...just make sure you have the ones that will stay, because they are priceless!!! And for those that walked away, smile and just move on!