True Friendship (Originally posted on Facebook Mar 31, 2013)

People sometimes say that when you are in a crisis or having a hard time you find out who your real friends are. While I believe this to be true, I also believe the idea of what a real friend has been lost on the society of instant fixes and lack of responsibility. It seems the underlying idea of a real friend means someone that will take the problem away from you. I do not believe this is what we are meant to do as we help one another, especially as we get older and more mature. We are here on this earth to learn and to grow. The majority of that growth happens when we are taken out of our comfort zones and pushed to do things we didn't know we could do, with the help of God and support of those He places in our lives. I believe the real idea of a good friend is someone that will stand by you during your trials and give you encouragement and strength, when they can, until the trial is over and you have learned the lesson that is needed to be learned. I don't believe a real friend is one that takes those trials away and therefore the opportunity to grow. This tends to be most prevalent when someone asks you for something (money, items, favors) and when you say you are not able to though you can offer support (love, encouragement, prayers) they exclaim that you aren't a good friend or that you don't really care. Some of the hardest lessons I've had the experience of going through have come because all those that loved me stood beside me and encouraged me while letting me have that experience, not because they took the hard time, the pain, or the anguish away. Christ, the great exemplar did not do for others what they could do for themselves. He lightened their burden with His love and His unselfish sacrifice to do for them what they could not do themselves. I thank those friends who have shown me such Christlike love, who have stood by me and supported me with your love, faith, prayers, and encouragement while allowing me to grow and learn.