PROVERBS 17:17
Have you ever heard the saying “Friendship is one of God’s most precious gifts”? God has blessed me with some incredible friends. When my family first moved to Grand Junction, God gave me friends right from the beginning, and they are still with me today. My friends encourage me, love me, and support me. We all need friends, and everyone needs to be a friend. So how can we be good friends? And how do we choose the good friends? There are three qualities that I think make any old friend a true friend. First is Love. Love is the foundation of a friendship: “Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 19:19). Love isn’t just a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that comes and goes; it sticks around even when you don’t feel it. The second is Listening. Not focusing on yourself helps you to be a good listener. Sometimes just listening is the best way to love someone and show them that you care about what is going on in their lives. Constancy. No one wants a fair-weather friend. Being constant is being a friend that people can count on through everything. Love, listening, constancy: Your friends should have these qualities and so should you. When you do, your friendship is truly a gift from God.
Danae Downs, 15, home school, Grand Junction, CO
Please help me, dear God, to love my friends,
listen to them, and always be there for them.
And help them do the same for me.