Friendship Day

Today the theme of the Precious Moments Inspiration email was friendship. It said that today, August 4, is Friendship Day. I looked on Wikipedia and found a little information too.

The Bible has a lot to say about friends. Doing a search of the word "friends" I found it used over 100 times throughout the Bible. David had a true friend in Jonathan. Job had trouble with his friends.

Do you value your friendships? I read something recently (not for sure where, probably on a blog) about how people come into our lives for a reason. Some are in our lives for long periods of time, and we develop a strong relationship. Others are just in our lives for a short time, and then we lose touch and don't have a deep connection. They are there to help you through a period in your life and then for whatever reason, you lose touch. I can think of examples of both in my life. I can also see the value of both as well.

My friends are very important to me. I'm thankful to have the friendship of some girls that I've known since my elementary school days. There is one I know that it won't matter how much time has passed since we've seen each other we still connect and have that special friendship bond. I'm thankful for my friends I met in college. I was at a different stage in my life when I met these girls for the first time, and they have been invaluable to me in their encouragement and prayer. I'm thankful for my teacher friends. By this I mean both the teachers that taught me and those friends I met while teaching. I'm thankful for my Internet friends. I never knew the support I would gain from a bunch of ladies on a PCOS message board. Even with changes on message boards and most of us never meeting in person, we've managed to stay in touch. We went through our pregnancies together and still enjoy sharing about our lives and our children online. Also my Internet friends include my new blogging friends. I've learned so much from them. Each one is different yet valuable to me. I'm thankful for my family friends. My Mom has always been my dear friend as well as my cousin. My husband and I were friends first before we started dating, and I'm thankful we are still best friends. I'm also thankful to say I have a friend in God! He is there no matter what and the greatest friend of all! All of these friends have added to my life to help me in some way. Today I am thankful for my friendships.

Here is one of the quotes I liked from the email I got this morning:

"True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable." Dave Tyson Gentry

Also, here is a beautiful passage from John:
9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I 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. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17This is my command: Love each other." John 15:9-17