Such a beautiful day today! The sky was almost cornflower blue. Not a cloud in sight when I walked Penelope. It was chilly and the wind was fierce at times. The cardinals and finches were flitting around the feeders, the buzzards were climbing the sky’s circular staircase, riding the wind currents. I love all the seasons but I like them to be true to their time frames. If it’s suppose to be spring, then Mother Nature needs to get with the plan! I thought spring had sprung but you wouldn’t know that tonight. One of my friends remembers a snow 40 years ago on Easter Sunday, the last Sunday in April that year. You never know! I might get a snow flake again.

My dearest friend from Alexander City spent the day with me today. She brought treats for lunch and they were delicious. We have been friends for over 40 years. This unknown quote describes our relationship, “When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.” She has sat with me in my darkness many times.

We know many people in our lifetimes but not all of them are devoted friends. Friendship is mutual affection and trust between two people. You know you can trust your friends to show up when you need them because they’ve proved in the past they’ll show up. For the past 23 years I have received a beautiful note on the anniversary of Rosalyn’s death from a dear friend in North Carolina. The letter always arrives on the 17th of March, never fails. She understands my grief and holds my pain for Rosie and Chief close to her heart and that touches my heart.

I think one of the most meaningful benefits of having close friends is you can pour your heart out without worrying about being judged. You feel safe and comfortable with friends. My husband and I had a wonderful friendship that lead to a loving, happy marriage. Friends listen with their hearts, are nonjudgmental. They might encourage you to walk down a different path but they’re not going to drag you down that path. Friends are loyal and supportive, even through difficult times. “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother,” Proverbs 18:24.

I’m fortunate in my friendships. Most of my friends have a great sense of humor that leads to lots of laughter. When my dearest friend spends the weekend with me we wear matching pajamas, snack ourselves to death, and laugh our heads off. We’ve both weathered storms in our marriages and families, have held each others hands in the grief of our widowhood. But we can always manage to find something to make us smile and something to make us laugh.

Friends share our pain and hold our hands in moments of grief. Friends are dependable, love us unconditionally, cheer us up. We just feel better spending time with them. Proverbs 27:9 reads, “Sweet friendships refresh the soul and awaken our hearts with joy, for good friends are like the anointing oil that yields the fragrant incense of God’s presence.” Jesus calls his followers friends which gives us a closer more intimate relationship with God. John 15:15 quotes Jesus, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.”

True friendship is a gift from God. Proverbs 17:18 says, “A true friend loves at all times.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 speaks of friendship — “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone. Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” A woven rope of three stands is a strong friendship that binds friends together for life.

We need to cultivate a friendship with God. He loves us unconditionally, offers comfort and strength in difficult times and gives us guidance for a purposeful life. He will always light our darkness.

“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.” — Thomas Aquinas