♥=♥ Something about Me ♥=♥

Dr. Paul Brand, a medical missionary in India, observed an unusual phenomenon with several of his patients. When they are recovering from his surgery I his hospital, some family members would bring hot meals to them. At night a relative would sleep on the floor under the bed of the recovering patient. When patients awoke in pain, their loved ones would gently massage them until they went back to sleep.
At first, Dr. Brand thought this was inappropriate and unsanitary. Over time however, he began to notice that the patients receiving this loving care from family needed less pain medication. They were being soothed by people who loved them. This “family therapy” brought the warm and care of home into an unfamiliar place.
We can learn from this example of love and care for our family. Those who belong to Christ are part of the spiritual family and need to be aware of the hurts of the other members. The apostle Paul said, “If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). This principle requires that we find practical ways of soothing hurts. Do you know a Christian brother or sister who needs “family therapy” from you? --- Dennis Fisher

A caring hear, a listening ear,
A thoughtful word, a gentle tear
Will help to lift the heavy load
Of weary souls along life’s road. --- D. De Haan

"Savor your friendships as you grow old; many are silver, but one is pure gold."

This is sage advice for those who have been fortunate enough to find that one true friendship. Or perhaps you have maintained friendships from your days in elementary school. Whatever the case, friends are previous gifts we give to ourselves.

As children, friendships are vitally important, most notably as it relates to the socialization process. Meeting a new friend the first day of school is essential, especially if one is particularly shy. Perhaps another girl would sense the shyness and offer a hand in friendship. Forming friendships with others from different cultures enhances a child's early experiences as well, and plants a seed that is healthy and which can be nurtured throughout life. But, preserving friendships are often difficult, even under the best of circumstances. Whether a friend moves away; or leaves school; or becomes ill, it is especially hard on a child. They are resilient, however, and somehow cope with the loss.

As the child becomes a teen, the word friendship takes on a different connotation. While some teens exhibit the closeness and bonding prevalent during their parents' day; others are not so conducive to this type of friendship. Instead, they form gangs which they refer to as their family, and commit acts which were unheard of twenty or thirty years ago. It makes one wonder if this type of friendship is born out of a home where caring and nurturing is non-existent. Or has peer pressure to act and dress a certain way erased all that was taught in the early years of their childhood. Girls become vicious to each other; more so than boys, and it's inconceivable that a meaningful true friendship exists in that environment.

Perhaps as we grow older, the child in us returns to the very first day we attended school.
We appreciate and value the friends we've made in our adult life because they ground us; keep us balanced; watch out for us; protect us; care and help us when needed. True friendships require no expectations; they are unconditional by nature, and bring out the very best of who we are. We rely on each other for comfort; rant and rave knowing our friend will simply listen; discuss issues which we are passionate about, knowing we will be understood. Laugh together; cry together; then eat ice cream while laughing all the more. How rare is that kind of friendship? How blessed are we to have a true friend who will allow us to be who we are, without judgment. Yes, very rare indeed.

As we reach our golden years, our friends may have passed on, but the memories are still intact. We take out the old scrapbook and reminisce as we thumb through familiar pictures. Suddenly, we laugh and look to one side saying, "Remember ..." then stop. A single tear falls down our cheek. We look up and smile because the years have not taken away the recollections of our youthful days, nor has the light of true friendship been extinguished.

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The article paints a thousand of words. From its saying, “Savor your Friendships as you grow old, many are silver but one is pure gold”, I can say that the author really understand the exact meaning of true friendship.

A relationship of mutual affection and good will, that’s how the dictionary defines the word friendship whereas the writer of the article defines the true friendship as special gifts that last for a lifetime and friends are precious gifts we give to ourselves.

From the time when we are still a child, friendship is really important. Our mother is our first best friend because she takes good care of us under all circumstances and protects us from danger. As we grow older, we begin making friends with other people, classmates or neighbors. Nowadays, a person who has true friends is fortunate enough. We believe that friends are always there for us, whenever we need them. But a true friendship is not a one way road that we could only get our personal benefits. It should not be like that. We should learn mutual understanding to one another. It demands commitment form one another in your circle of friends. We cannot say that disputes will not arrive within your friendship, because in this world nothing is just right.

In our teenage life, friendship have varied meaning coming from different minds of teenagers. We form our different groups of friends. Some teens would rather choose their parents as their friend that they can open and share their problems to them. Some teens would also engage in the world of gangsters. Gang is one of the problems that we face today from the youths. In fact, it cannot bring advantages or good results to the young people who are fond of joining gangs. One of the awful results of joining gangs is teenage pregnancies. These teenagers who join gangs state that the reason why they join such is because of their family.

Based on my experience, friendship really helps me a lot. I have my own circle of friends but I have also my good friends out in the circle and I’m happy that I could manage my friendship the way I handle it.

My friends and I share laughter together. I have no doubt in telling them my secrets because I know they will not spread it. They are good and active listeners. We tackled issues and share our opinions about what’s happening in our classroom or even in and out of campus. We eat our lunch together and laugh at things we find funny. But nothing is perfect, right? And so our friendship also has its flaws. Like now, one of our friends experienced the so called “infatuation” with a certain guy and it really affects our friendship towards her because she has no time for us and she forgets to share and open her problems to us. She cannot go with us anymore because of that guy. By that basis, I can say that we need to strengthen our friendship so that no one could ever rupture it.

Friendship is like a plant that we are taking good care. From a seed to plant, we need not only water, sunlight, air and fertilizer but also we need to protect it from pests or anything that would damage the growth of the plant. Friendship also needs defense so that it would last for a lifetime. As a friend, we need to take good care and guard our friendship from harm in order for our friendship last forever. Trials and test may come but this are intended for good to make the companionship strong.

We can nurture our friendship by meeting them regularly. If you feel that something is bothering him or her, try to talk to and help him or her in his or her problem. Sharing jokes would also do. Many things could actually help your friendship go strong if each and every one of you is truthful with one another. Good friends are rare and one must care for your closeness carefully.

As I said previously, friends do help me. They protect me, care for me and help me when needed. They give me advice. Certainly, they are my shoulders to lean on. Good influence is what they are to me. My friends are important for me. My life will not be complete if they are not with me. Life with friends is different from life with no friends. It is justly important to have those people whom you can lean on in hard times or good times. In hard times, you need them for support. You can find basis with what’s happening in your life with the passed experiences you have shared.

My friends are not only with me during happy moments but also they are with me when I feel down. They can make me laugh in times of crying. They give advices that would help me in my decisions. They know me more than others do. The article states that “True friendship requires no expectations; they are unconditional by nature, and bring out the very best of who we are.”, and of course this is all true indeed. We need not to expect something in return, we only have to do is to be true to your friends with the best of who you are. I don’t know how our friendship started but one thing is for sure we are true to one another. We have different lifestyle. Our characters just differ but we did come up to nearly perfect friendship. We share something in common. In a friendship, I think manner really matters. There is an adage that states that “tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are”. I do not go for a bad influenced people because I’m afraid of what will happen to me next. I don’t want to mess my name with worth less things on earth.

The friendship and the memories are invaluable — truth.

“Friendship is but a seed we sow. And give our care to help it grow. We cannot own the plant outright, but if we nurture it with light, then with a lifetime’s sun and showers, we may call the blossom of ours.”