Thoughts on Friendship

I do my best to read the daily Bible readings I receive each morning by way of the Catholic Mom Daily Gospel Reflections email or listen to them through the USCCB website. I was recently struck by the first reading for Friday, February 28th, Sirach 6:5-17 about True Friendship. It made me think about the different friendships I've had over the course of my lifetime and I have some thoughts. Lots of thoughts.

Until reading this particular passage of scripture, I subscribed to the idea that people, including friends, come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. I think part of me held on to that and actually used it to justify why friendships have been so difficult to maintain over the years. It was always easier to look at myself as the reason a friendship ended or wasn’t as fruitful as I’d hoped but I now realize God has been guiding me toward friendships that embody the essence of this passage. 

I’m reminded of the people in my life who have provided shelter to me when I was in some of my darkest moments and did so without judgment or condemnation. They did so with love, the same love that God asks us to show one another, even our worst enemies. Don’t get me wrong, it still hurts when we feel betrayed or left in the dust. But the initial sting isn’t so bad.

I’m reminded of the people who have held strong to their faith and have encouraged me along my own faith journey. These are the ones who want to see me be the best version of myself as God created me to be, not some irrational standard. These faithful friends are not afraid to call me out when I have made a mistake or done something wrong but do so with kindness and love and a gentleness that only true friendship warrants. 

These faithful friends have not only been life-saving but life-giving as they have pointed me towards what is good and true and beautiful, all in the eyes of God. They are the ones who sat listening to me as I cried tears of utter pain and sorrow when I lost my mom and dad. The ones who came to the funeral and were just present with me. They are ones who don’t have to say that they’ll always be there for me because they just are and always have been there for me. They are the friends who I know I can count on who know that they can count on me too. 

Friendship, like any relationship is hard. But true friendship is worth more than any treasure, and faithful friends, as Sirach reminded me the other day, are beyond price.

God bless,

~ Jennifer