“Take my love,

for love is everlasting.

And remember the truth that once was spoken;

to love another person

is to see the face of God.

~ From Les Miserables

Friendship and love are pretty much identical twins.  You can’t find one without the other.  And it’s very hard to tell the two apart.

A quick glance at this happy pair, you’ll find their features quite striking —

*  You can pick the target of your affection, but the other still has to choose you back.

*  The beginning requires risk and effort.

*   Secrets are shared and the unspoken is protected.

*   Though both hold painful memories and bitter losses, they remain coveted riches for affected hearts.

There was a time I felt finding and keeping friendship was as capricious as dating a dark handsome stranger I had just met.

Friendship is A Lot Like Dating

Making friends is a lot like dating, don’t you think?  There’s always the rush of finding compatibilities, a generous swapping of stories, and crazy talk of places to enjoy together.

Sooner or later, something unravels.  Seems like once things become familiar, a slow distancing slips in and cools things off.  Sometimes friendships end like abrupt breakups.  Other times, it’s a slow sputtering of flattened conversations.

But, among the friendships that come and go, there are some that change our lives, marking our seasons.

Double Rainbows and Messy Messes

Friends like these are double rainbows caught after a crazy storm threatens to wash you out.  They could be that one last gas station you thank God for, as your oil tank dips past empty.  Friends of this sort offer comfort, refuge, and beauty that fills our hearts back to full.

Some friends are like orange sherbet.  Pure refreshment.  A friend who you can celebrate the best and brightest shouts of triumphs — like the sun-burned cheeked friend you once jumped through the sprinklers with and drank sticky lemonade down your chin, on that record hot day.

And then, there are the rare ones who you drag your ugly mess of a self to.  They’ll give you space.  No curing, no healing.  They are there to quietly face into the reality of everything that is blowing up around and inside you.

One Faithful Friend

There is that One Faithful Friend, who stands behind us, all the way down, to carry our crosses.

Friendship isn’t simply a human affection.
It is a sacred devotion.

Jesus called us friends —

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” ~ Jesus (John 15:13)

A Spiritual Preoccupation

Each time we extend our hand of friendship to another, we engage in a spiritual preoccupation — to love one another.

The keys to friendship are the same ones we unlock for love — guts and courage.

It is a dangerous and risky endeavor — this sacred devotion — to say hello, laugh, forgive, hang on, and in some cases, let go.  Friendship continues to be the door that opens to the exquisite homecoming of becoming loved and being known.

“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy” Jude 1:24

“A true friend is the person in whose light we shine the brightest.”  Keely Chace

What are the connections you find between love and friendship?

Do you find friendships easy or hard?

I'm irresistibly walking through 14 Days Of Love!
To start at the beginning, click here:
Day 1:  14 Days of Irresistible -- An Intro
Day 2:  Falling Divinely In Love
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