THE ART OF FRIENDSHIP
Then she took it a step further. She told us that if our candle went out, it would be like this. Then she turned off all the lights in that space. It was so dark that we could not see our hands directly in front of our face. It was not as troublesome, because we knew there were fifteen to twenty people around us. My wife and I were huddled next to each other, and I could feel the warmth of her side and the touch of her hand. We didn’t panic and were comforted just knowing the other person was there.
There will be times in our lives where it seems so dark that we cannot navigate on our own through the cavernous troubles that surround us. We cannot see the danger, nor the way out. A friend can become the light that will illuminate our path or give us comfort in the middle of the darkness. Just knowing they are there makes the circumstance a little less troublesome. If a friend has been through a similar dark time, they can help navigate through the darkness of our circumstance to get through it.
A friend doesn’t leave you there alone but sticks with you, especially when it is tough. They don’t just stay with you; they speak into your situation as well.
4. A friend tells the truth—they wouldn’t just watch you fail.
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” (Prov. 27:17)
“Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multi- plies kisses.” (Prov. 27:6)
“Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleas- antness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.” (Prov. 27:9)
There may be a time where you have to tell a friend the cold, hard truth. It is possible to tell the truth in love, and it is also possible that in so doing, your friendship may be tested. If the friendship is true, then it will stand the test.
If we sit back and watch someone fail, knowing we could have done something to help them, is that really friendship? Or is friendship giving the other all of the options, facts, and truth, and then being there with them in their success or failure?
We have all failed. For some of us, we had a friend that tried to speak into our weakness to help us overcome it. We may have even pushed them aside and became angry with them. After we made it through the failure, hopefully, we looked back and saw how they tried to help us avoid it. And I’m sure we went back to thank them as well as asked for forgiveness.