Two Are Better

Throughout my life, I've been blessed with many cherished friends ... young friends, same-age friends, older friends. Friends who thought and believed like me, and friends who marched to a different drummer. Friends of all shapes, sizes and colors. Friends who were quiet and reserved, and friends who chattered nonstop. Friends who lived next door and friends who lived across the country. Friends who were living, breathing examples of Jesus and friends who didn't believe in God or His Son.

Over the years, I've come to understand that though all of my friends hold a special place in my heart, there are some friends who become family to me. Through shared experiences and events, through good times and bad, they prove that they are loyal, trustworthy, faithful friends. Friends who stay, friends who hang in there, friends who care about me and love me deeply, friends who are there no matter what or when or where, friends who hold me accountable for my thoughts and actions, friends who challenge and encourage me in my relationship with the Lord.

Perhaps it is because, with the exception of my children, all of my extended family lives in Tennessee and Kentucky, but I have come to truly appreciate how much my friends mean to me, especially now that my children are grown and I live alone. And I've gained a whole new appreciation for some special verses from God's Word. Verses that are loaded with the concept of true and lasting friendship … working together, catching each other when falls come, keeping each other warm, standing firm against the enemy together. And most important … that God be the third strand, the interwoven thread that ties your friendships together. Real friendships, deep friendships, loyal and faithful friendships are God orchestrated and God initiated, and He is at the very center and core of them.

Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 "Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart."

Thank you, Lord, for friends who are "keepers" ... friends who work side by side with me, catch me when I fall, keep me warm, stand and fight with me. And thank you, Lord, for being our third strand ... the truest tie that binds us together.