The Value of Friendship

I have had many close friendships over the years, but the deepest ones have been over the last 5 years. I think God puts specific people in your life at exactly the right time. I once heard this quote: "A friend is someone who knows the song in your heart, and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words." I know there have been many times when I have lost my footing. I have doubted all that I once knew, and there was always a friend there to remind me of what was true. Feelings are fickle and cannot always be trusted. It sometimes takes someone who has been down that road before to help you see where you're really at. I am thankful for friends to laugh with, cry with, and just share life with. It is so freeing to know that there are those that love you despite your flaws. Sometimes they even love you enough to tell you when you are wrong. Life is hard and I am thankful that I have been able to be on the giving end as well as the receiving end. I don't always know the answers, and sometimes I can do no more than provide a listening ear and a shoulder to cry on, but I can pray daily and specifically for those that mean the most to me. So to all my friends out there, I thank you for being there when I needed you and trusting me enough to let me be there for you.