As I watch my teenagers grow up I notice they go through many different friendships over the years. Some friends come and go rapidly. Others remain faithful for several years.
I’ve seen the same type of cycle play out in adulthood too.
Close friends I had in high school quickly faded into the past when I traveled 1800 miles away to college. Many friends I made in college, I haven’t seen in 25 years. The pattern repeats itself through all the different stages, states and developments of work, society and family relations.
This is all well and fine, unless you get so emotionally attached to friends that when they fade away, either mentally or physically, you believe you’ve lost something irreplaceable in your life.
How can one prevent a feeling of loss when friends disappear for whatever reason?
The best answer I know is, God is your true friend!
Close acquaintances, neighbors, girlfriends, boyfriends, associates, partners, come and go. It happens. There is little fixed about human circumstances and social settings.
But God is ever with us! No matter how many changes happen around us socially, God’s love for us is consistent, constant and predictable.
Whenever evidence of God’s love seems to leave in one instance, such as a presumed friend dumping us or a neighbor moves away, evidence of God’s friendship will appear in some other way. But we have to keep our eyes open to see it!
God is omnipresent Love. God is the one Friend of all that is ever-present in our lives.
God as our Friend may appear in any number of different ways. It could appear as a close confidant, a loyal boyfriend or girlfriend, a super neighbor, a caring boss, a faithful spouse or a kind stranger. The key to happy survival and prosperity is to not outline God’s friendship in a specific human form that is temporal and eventually will leave.
God as Friend IS infinite divine Love.
God’s friendship is ever-present. When we know this and understand it, we will find evidence of that friendship, often in places we never expected to find it.
God as Friend, never leaves our lives, never deserts us, forsakes us, forgets us or stands us up. God is ever loyal, faithful, caring and thoughtful. God is always present holding our hand, cheering us, lifting us, patting us on the back, giving us reasons to smile, strengthening us, supporting us and beholding us. God is the best friend you could ever have.
Cherish your friendship with God first and above all, and the human stuff will work its way out peacefully.
I really appreciated this post and needed it. I have always felt that I have very few friends and was concerned about this situation. Unlike what I felt most people experience, I left behind all my high school and college and army and places of residence friends. I would have a few friends each place, but when I left, I left the friends, too, no hanging on. Now I am in a place and have a few (very few) friends. I do like having God as my friend and I found the post very comforting. It made me feel less odd.
Your message today, really ‘spoke’ to me, Evan. As a child of an army officer, we moved frequently, throughout my childhood. After settling in one spot for almost 30 years, there was an upheaval in my marriage, which resulted in divorce and me moving right across the country. The past three years brought the deaths of the three most consistent peope in my life: my father, my mother and more recently, my son. This seemed to exacerbate the great void of close friendships and family contacts. It is only through increased understanding of God, our true source of all-presence and all-goodness, that I have found comfort. Thank you for reinforcing this Truth — which contradicts those material views of lonliness that tend to creep in from time to time. By strengthening by ‘friendship’ with God, I am full of expectancy and Joy that the right people will come into my life…Love is reflected in Love.
My heart goes out to these 2 readers. I, too have ” been there”in similar circumstances, and I understand.
But I do know when we get it right with God, with our relationship to Him, everything else rights itself. I am still learning to be more consistent with this one, but this idea, this truth, is what you have taught me, dear Evan.
I am soo grateful for this helpful blog, for the lovely/ loving readership community, for this timely reminder about true friendship today, and for you, Evan, for having the courage to follow through with the angel inspiration and create this original blog 3+ years ago.
God bless you!!
Mary
DITTO to all the comments so far. Experienced all these things and continue to have to return to our one True LOVE, FRIEND. Getting there.
Sancy
Thank you Evan and all the writers! It was very inspiring and strengthening to hear all the reports! Of course I’ve been in the same boat less than two years ago and specially today I felt so much loved by God that I decided to praise my Love being as much joyful as I could and to spread love to everyone I came in contact with. I’me still in this goal, not only for today but trying to keep up with it every day. I’ve learned that gratitude to Love (God) being what She or He is for sure plays a key role. Thank you everyone.
IS VERY GOOD..............................
A great stream of wonderful thoughts to replace the emptyness I have experienced.
So very timely and very much appreciated.