When Friends Fail

My tears and turbulent thoughts were stilled by a simple phrase.

"A friend loves at all times..."  (Proverbs 17:17a)

Even now?

Friendships experience ebbs and flows.  They reach new heights as two people share common experiences, time, laughter, and conversation.  They can endure as circumstances create distance. They can deepen through hardship, honesty, and tears. They can be broken by unkindness, gossip, or betrayal.

Where are your friendships today?

Whether you find that your friendships are deep & enduring or weak & broken, know that friendship takes two parties.  You cannot create a good friend, but you can be a good friend.  What kind of a friend are you?

Will you choose to be a friend that loves at all times?

1 Corinthians 13 is a well-worn passage in my Bible.  I use it to consider my actions in any relationship.   Today, it is especially poignant when considering friendships.

"...Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.  Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things..."

Ouch.  There's always a word (or two or ten) that exposes a lack of love in my heart.  I pray that God makes me a friend that loves others at all times.