friendship.

What does that mean to you? The word "friendship". Here is what dictionary.com had to say:

–noun
1. the state of being a friend; association as friends: to value a person's friendship.
2. a friendly relation or intimacy.
3. friendly feeling or disposition.

Value, intimacy, and feelings. Ask yourself the value of your friendships...
Are they convenient friends?
Are they considered your friend because they hang in your "circle" or their schedule matches yours?
Are they a friend because you enjoy each other's company?
Do you have similar interests?
Maybe they are your friend because you can trust them with your deepest secrets?
Take a peek at your friendships. What do you see?

Here is what I found in the Bible about friendship:

Proverbs 18:24 says, Friends can destroy one another, but a loving friend can stick closer than family. (God's Word version)

What? A friend can destroy another friend? Yep, they can, I've felt it. God created us to live in fellowship with one another and when that bond is broken, it hurts. It hurts because that is not how God intended us to be with each other. Man, i so want to be that friend that sticks closer than family because (in some cases) friends are all you have! I think we all look for that someone who can fill that friendship of "closer than family". What about our heavenly Friend? He's always there, always available to hear about our bad days (and He won't interrupt). How awesome is that...we can all say we've got a friend.
Its not about how many friends you have but, about the quality of those friendships. Would you rather have a ton of so-so friends or a couple of super great friends?

The Bible also says,

A friend LOVES at ALL times. Proverbs 17:17

Easier read than done, for me. Sometimes it is a challenge to love a friend. Friends come in all packages... new, old, unexpected, and restored. In today's society, people walk away from friendships because of hurt feelings or some surface-selfish reason. I have a really hard time walking away from a friend. I have had to step away from friendships in the past and it stunk. I do not like losing friends. I believe that people come into our lives and they shape us. They influence us in ways we can't even see. Sometimes for good and sometimes for bad. Don't get me wrong, there are situations where you need to protect your heart and walk away. Before you walk...make sure you pray. Those friends that are challenging to love are called "heavenly sandpaper"(ya know those people who rub you the wrong way?)...you can learn from your relationships.

Friends are a place where you can invest your heart, feelings, and security.
If you've ever been around kids, their concept of friendship is so pure. As parents we teach them to explain why the actions were wrong or why that hurt their feelings. Then they apologize and back to playing like nothing happened.
I sooooo wish adult friendships could be the same. Why can't they? I should be able to tell a friend, "hey, that really hurt my feelings the way you handled that." And, we could get back to playing but, it doesn't work like that in the adult world, does it? Its tough.
Check out a few characteristics of a good friend:
encouraging.
supportive.
selfless.
honest.
loving.
helpful.
interested.
happy to be in your company.
and much more...Check yourself. Are you being a good friend or are you looking at yourself saying, "why don't they do this or that for me?"
I feel very strongly about friendships. I always have. They are important and sometimes, we just need to take a step back. I think I could write a whole book about this topic (not that I'm qualified) I think friendships are so fascinating. The dynamics, the hunt for friendships, see...I could go on and on. I'm not a perfect friend, but I try to be and its the trying that counts (in my opinion).

My challenge to you...do something unexpected for a close friend, let them know how much you value their friendship.

[hugs to my homies...oh my gosh, did I just say "homies"?]