Friendship

Do not desert an old friend;
a new one is not worth as much.
A new friend is like new wine;
you do not enjoy drinking it until it has matured.
-Ecclesiastcus 9:10

I feel blessed to have so many old friends.
There is something irreplaceable about friendships that have endured the test of time.
They are priceless, enriching and in a world that is so transitory...worth fighting to keep.

It amazes me how easily people will abandon those they have said they love.
How quickly we move on to some other relationship, church or friendship.
Our lack of community within most churches is because of our hollow and shallow relationships with each other. We are starving for companionship but painfully inept at nurturing the ones around us that could be far more satisfying.

I laughed today when I heard a local pastor on the radio say:
"If you don't say parenting is the hardest job on the planet, than you are not doing it right."

So true and it is also true with real relationships, they take work and they will be tested.

I hope you are able to drink deeply from the good wine of friendship and experience mature relationships they are one of God's remedies for a lonely life.