The Strong Defense Of Faithful Friends

A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found him, hath found a treasure. Nothing can be compared to a faithful friend, and no weight of gold and silver is able to countervail the goodness of his fidelity.

~Sirach 6:14~15

I am always amazed at God's gift of friendship~ the friendship He calls us to with Himself, but also human friendship. Christ sanctified human friendship when He called His twelve Apostles to be His companions during His public ministry, and in His friendship with Lazarus, Martha and Mary. In these friendships, He also sets for us an example of being in friendship with God, for He is God.
I have been thinking a lot about human friendship lately and am so very grateful for the good friends with which God has blessed me. One friend in particular comes to mind. My friend Shari and I have been friends for almost 20 years. Ironically we met through our former spouses. We have seen each other through divorce, and family troubles, but also many good times. I am Godmother to her daughter.
Recently, we fell out of touch for quite some time~ not due to any disagreement, but simply allowing life to get in the way. I called her last night mainly to R.S.V.P to my Goddaughter's high school graduation party, but more because I missed her and our friendship. We spoke for about 45 minutes picking up as if we had spoken only the day before.
When I hung up, I felt a deep sense of gratitude to God, not just for my friend and her friendship, but for the gift of friendship in general. God knows we can not go it alone on this earth so He has blessed us with companions for this journey.