Friendship

 In the times we see how God gives us grace to show us that when we have the right people come into our life, that He will show us that these are the friends that later come into our life to be best friends that turn into family, and this is what I like to think that is what we call a best family for life friendship. I know that sometimes friendship separates and as we learn in a scripture that there is a time for every season. I'd like to think the people who become a best family friend for life are the friendships that are a lifelong friendship, the ones you know will be there, the ones you know that will stay, and never leave. It is awesome to know that God carried you through because there is Hope in the moment, and when I think of this from when I put this in the zoom chat of our teens Hydrocephalus call, it made me realize how the lifelong friends that become family are the greatest of friendships you can have but our truest friend is God. When writing this I was listening to the Christian Media Spotlight Radio Network and the song titles were Friends, Breathe, Common Ground, I Will Wait For You. You see the reason why I think these song titles like that are neat is because Jesus who is our friend will wait for us on the common ground in which we stand to know that in the middle of any trial, we can breathe in knowing He is our friend but also breathe in knowing that we have friends who become best family for life friends in our life to show us that God loves us so much that He would leave the 99 to bring us back to Common Ground, so that we could breathe in knowing that there isn't anything us as friends or best family friends couldn't do to help each other in knowing that we are forgiven, set free, loved, cherished, that we hold onto Hope in knowing that our Faithful and uttermost friend who is True and shows Compassion is Christ because He first loved us.

And friends are friends forever, If the Lord's the Lord of them, And a friend will not say never, 'Cause the welcome will not end, Though it's hard to let you go, In the Father's hands we know, That a lifetime's not too long To live as friends.

John 15 verse 13- Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

1 John 4 verse 7-  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

Matthew 18 verse 20-  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

James 2 verse 23- And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,'' and he was called God’s friend.

Romans 12 verse 15- Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Romans 1 verse 11-12:  I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

John 14 verse 27-  Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

"Faithful friends are a rare treasure."

A true friend is someone is not someone we have chosen for ourselves, but rather someone God has placed in our lives for a purpose.

As I went down in the river to pray, Studying about that good old way And who shall wear the robe and crown, Good Lord, show me the way!

In all of this, we see that as we continue to trust Him that we are loved by Him to know that it's the trust, the hope, faith and the Light which is Christ that helps us find our way into these lifelong best friends that are meant to stay and we also see how He can bring some in for just a season but no matter what we can remember that we have a friend in Him and He calls us friend too because we are His Beloved children.

Let us go about our week in realizing everything we have learned because no matter what, in His Timing we know that God will give us the grace that we need, and the hope we need to know when we have that friend that enters our life for the better and I'd like to think I have many of those friends in the online communities because God brought them into my life for the better but let us remember who is the truest of all, which is Christ because without Christ, where would we be? I want to end on this acronym that I want to share.

Faith

Rise

Inspire

Enlighten

Noble

Dutiful

Shining

Hopeful

Inspired

Praise

All qualities that we see in Christ as our friend, but also qualities we see in the lifelong friendships that last forever in which Christ has brought to us because God can do anything as nothing is Impossible for Him.