“Who are my friends?
Are they the ones
Who never hurt me
And never let me down?
Are they the ones
Who are always there
And will never leave me alone?
Let me not seek my God
In my friends
For I shall only be disappointed
Only this I know:
That friends are precious gifts
And despite all their weaknesses,
They have claimed me
As their own.”
He who has found true friends has found a real treasure. By finding people he could draw close to his heart, he has already divided his sorrows and multiplied his joys.
His friends open up to him another world, a new world to discover, to cherish and to explore. He learns new things from them. He discovers new things that can make him happy.
When he opens up his own world to them, his happiness is also multiplied because he sees the joy in the eyes of his friends. He is able to share to them something new. He is able to impart a significant part of his life.
Friendships are therefore like bridges. We go back and forth to draw out happiness and to share our own happiness in return.
Friends help one another grow. By constantly trying to understand the other, friends extend themselves and become better persons.
Why be alone when you can be with another? Why grow alone when you can grow together?
Even in business undertakings, having a core group of people you can trust and depend upon creates a big impact to your success. You don’t have to think of everything on your own. You don’t have to do everything yourself. In times when you are too weak to perform your task, you know that there will be another hand to help you out.
Friends also reveal to you who you are. They are like clear mirrors reflecting the person you have become, the person you have grown into. Do you like what you see? Ask the people who truly know you. They may see things you often fail to see.
Your friends see your strength behind your tears. Your friends see the greatness of your dream behind your seeming defeat. Your friends believe in you even in times when you cannot believe yourself.
Some people ask what is the difference between a family and a friend. All I can say is that you can never have a true friend without considering her as a real part of your family.
Together, your family and friends give you a home to come home to, a warm place where you can just be yourself and be loved for who you are.
Happy are they who know where their home is. They will never be lost. They will always know how to find their way back to joy.
MAKE FRIENDS
When you have found true ones, you will find how blessed you really are!
I’m glad I was able to reach out to you. And I’m glad you were able to reach out to me. I’m glad I was able to break free from the walls that surrounded me. For indeed, the world is more colorful, and life is more beautiful when shared. Knowing another person is like knowing another world. It is learning new things, engaging in new adventures and finding new places within your heart!
IF I CAN ASK GOD ONE PRAYER
If you can face your God at this very moment, what prayer would you ask of Him? A solution for a grave personal problem perhaps. Riches that would help you serve other people better. An end to the world’s problems on peace. Forgiveness for the many sins you have committed. What would it be?
I used to think of it as a very difficult decision, on what prayer indeed I would lift up to my God. Until one night when one thought struck me, a prayer I would desire not only for myself, but for every man trying to make it in this life.
It’s a very simple prayer, nothing as grand as peace and prosperity for all, nothing as glorious as mansions I’d like prepared for me when I get to heaven.
If I can ask God one prayer, this is what I’d pray for: I’d pray that for each and every man that journeys in this road called life, there be at least one person who’d stay beside him, at least one person who’d make him feel he is not alone.
And by such a person I don’t necessarily mean a lover or a soulmate as everyone seems to be looking for, just one person, one friend who’d sincerely care, one person who’d love another as though that other is a part of his very own life: a child who’d write you a birthday card saying how much she really loves you, a mother who’d stay through the night and take care of you when you are sick, an aunt who’d listen to your heartaches when you’ve got no one to tell it to, a sister who’d treat you to an ice cream parlor when you didn’t make it to the auditions you went to, a friend who’d take a leave from work just so she can keep you company whenever you feel so far from home.
This is what I would pray for. This is what I believe would help each of us face whatever difficulties we are going through.
It is true that we meet a lot of people everyday, and it may be true that we even call many of them our friends. But who is your friend really? When things go wrong and the going gets tough, who would stay with you and stick around? Who would sacrifice their comfort just so they can comfort you?
Perhaps if there is one such person we know who truly cares for us and takes accountability for our lives, we’d all feel a little better, and we wouldn’t feel so afraid. Because in truth, what many of us fear the most is the fear of being alone, the fear of having no one who would care for us, and of having no one who would expect the same kind of concern from us.
We will never be content in being loved as part of the crowd, as a mere part of the group, not even in the collective sense of being all children of God. For though we are part of one body, each of us is a unique person who needs to be recognized, appreciated and loved
We have to know that God knows our name, and that He has written our name in the palm of His hand. We have to know that He would leave the 99 sheep behind so He can look for us and make sure that we are found. We have to know that we matter as a person, that we are seen, and that somebody’s going to miss us when we die.
Won’t you be God’s warm hands today and hold just one trembling hand, keeping it from turning numb and stone-cold? Won’t you be God’s ears today, attentively and patiently listening to someone who would like to believe nobody cares anymore? Won’t you be God’s voice today, speaking words that empower and uplift, making another person feel how important he is to you? Won’t you be God’s heart today, inviting somebody in with whom you will be responsible for, devoting and even sacrificing your life so that you may bring him healing and love and joy?
Won’t you let another person know that somebody enjoys her company, somebody delights in the way she laughs, and somebody looks forward to seeing her again? For these indeed are the things we need, simple things most of us often find so easy to ignore and to forget.
Much as we desire to be noble and to claim an undying love for all mankind, maybe what the world needs now is just one person, fully devoting oneself to another, making real the manifestation of God’s immeasurable love for each and every person He called His own. We cannot measure that in numbers, but in how well we were able to reflect unto another soul God’s deep, sincere, intimately personal and all encompassing love.
FRIEND
I may not always be by your side,
but my prayers will be with you.
I may not always help you,
but deep inside you know I want to.
I may not always do what you like,
but I will do the best I can.
I may not always understand,
but we can still walk hand in hand.
I may not be the perfect friend,
I may not be the best out there,
but in spite and despite all these,
you can be sure somebody cares!
