What is a friend?? Over my short life span, I have had ONE good friend that has stayed by me since we met. Katie and I met in 4th grade, and have been friends ever since. We used to do everything together. I would go to her house and stay and swim, and she would come to mine and like being on the farm.
    Over the years, we both left the church we had met at, and so didn’t see each other as often as we would have liked. Katie went to public school, so in the school year we saw each other even less.
    We don’t talk to each other every day or every week and sometimes not every month. But I know that if I needed something, I could call her and vice versa. I can count on her to be there if I need her, and she I.
    She is a real friend. Even when we don’t talk for awhile, we know that we are friends and it will always be that way. We have a great and true relationship. If I don’t hear from her, I don’t wonder if she is mad at me. There is no doubt between us. If there was something wrong she would say it.

    Now on the other side of the coin, I have had friends that were only lukewarm friends. They were friends to my face, but when we weren’t together, or when I stopped seeing them, I got no phone calls, no emails, no nothing. Even though I called and emailed them. I even went to see a girlfriend once after she had had surgery.  I was not invited to one of their weddings. I was so very hurt that I did not get an invitation to that wedding, because I had been one of the first to know. The sister talked to me about it, and when the wedding time came I received nothing. I stopped seeing them, so I ceased to exist. I was different than them, so they didn’t really care to be with me.

    I had actually thought that they were my friends. But I found out that they weren’t. It was a hard lesson. It hurt me. Since moving to this area, I have had people I thought cared about our family and me, but come to find out that when the rubber met the road, they were not who they portrayed themselves to be. They were not our friends. They chose to be popular, rather than standing up for what was right.

        So what is a friend?? The only true friend that we can look to is: Jesus. While writing this post, I couldn’t help but think of one of my favorite hymns, “What a Friend We have in Jesus”.  It means so much just to know that I have someone who will bear all my sins and griefs. It is a privilege to carry them all to Him.

    I have been blessed with true friends here on hsb. There are so many to name. Some I have met, some I have yet to meet. But I am so happy that God has brought this opportunity for me to have these friends which I hope to keep throughout my life. They are genuine.
    You being my friends, I would hope that if I have ever done anything to offend or distance anyone, you would please tell me. Don’t ignore me or stop coming by. Please talk to me about it. I want no division in the body of Christ. That includes blogland. But you have to talk to the person you have been offended by. I know that if I was offended by someone I would tell that person, I would talk to that person about it. I would not stop talking to them, and ignore them. I would hope to be shown the same courtesy.

    Friends are a rare thing nowadays. God places people in our lives for a reason. We need to make sure that we do everything in our power to be the image of Christ to all. Even Christians.

My good friend, Alycia, sent me this. I really believe this is true.

How true this is!!  I am so glad to have you all as my friends.
As Always...

Thanks for stopping by "Daily" at the "Planet"!!   
©AmandaDixon2007

Commented by nancysnook

I like what you said about friendships. I have a friend that I have known for the last 8 years. She is an older woman, 65, but we enjoy spending time together and our time sharing is very limited, so it's also treasured. I am friends with a few people on blogland but it's not a close friendship. My best friend is Jesus Christ whom I know I can turn to at any time or period in my life, next would be my husband. It's very true that friendships are a rarity, as you put it, and should be treasured. Thank you for an inpiring post. Nancy

Commented by Sparkles

Hey Amanda! That's a great post! I tell you, friends like that are very rare! Just when I thought I had a friend that would be one of those "friends forever," she basically ended our friendship just because she didn't like the fact that my family wasn't excatly like hers and didn't necessarily have the same convictions as them. It was the most heart-breaking thing when she came and basically told me that she found another friend to take my place, and didn't need me anymore! We had such a sweet friendship that lasted a couple years, but just because she realized that we didn't have the same convictions in a few areas she felt like she had to end it.

On the other hand, I have had a friend that I have know since I was just a baby that sounds just like the friend you described. I am definately very thankful for her.

I must also say, I have met some of the sweetest friends here on HSB (including you and your sister), and can't wait to meet them in real life!

Well, I hope you have a great Sunday!

Sparkles ; )

Edited by Sparkles on June 24, 2007 at 12:59 AM

Commented by CamtheMan

Hey, thanks for stopping by! I am glad you liked the template. That was a really good post! In my short time at HSB I have realized, like you said, that it is a great way to make friends!

Thanks again for the comment,

Cameron

Commented by DarthYxpu

Ah, that's a great entry!
BTW - my middle name only has one "L".

Not "Aquilla" it''s "Aquila".
:D!

I will be posting a entry with lots of pictures later today. Yay!
:D


Oh my gosh, I was SO stressed about that!!! If your computer dies you can recover it (if you know how). But if you loose a chunk of your website... you're goners!

Man, I was not happy when I found it all gone! I left a big stressed out comment on Joe's blog. lol.

So, I guess Eric told you about it, huh?

I finally found it under a different directory. As if someone actually hacked the site!!! So, I changed all my passwords!

I meant to comment on your moms blog and thank her (and the rest of you guys) for praying for me. I was REALLY stressed! :D

Anyhow, I'm glad to have it all back.

See you all soon!!!

Commented by giftedgirl

Hello Amanda! :-)

Lysha sent that to me too. Very true.

That was a great post!! As you know, I've dealt with a "friend" before. While I was really hurt by her and the way she used me, I'm thankful for it too. Without that expierience, I wouldn't be as careful in choosing who I spend my time with. And because of her, I know who my true friends are.

I've met so many great people here on HSB! You included. :-)

Thank you for saying that I'm doing great on becoming a great mom! It's kind of hitting me lately that in 9 months, I'll be able to get my learner's permit. And the way these 6 months have flown by..... it won't take too long!!

Blessings & Hugs,
Becca

Commented by Shaiya

Hey! whats up????
shaiya
Come by and check out my new post! Your going to love it.

Commented by BlogBoy

Now you need to remember that was all impromptu! See how crazy I am? =D

Nope, I'm a little better with the Aussie, but not by much, want me to put it on my blog? Lol!

Well he didn't really run away, he was allowed outside, so it was going to happen sometime, and yes we did look.

I say what ever on the blood thing... JK

Will do.

When Paul gets home, maybe tomorrow I think?

Is this your first time reading the books?

Ok, if you want to talk to my sister about horses in KY, then leave a comment on her blog! She knows all about the horses in KY.

And I don't like NM, and AZ, because the are too brown!

Houses and land are really cheap in KY =D

What do you have against KY?

Yep, the end of LOL

Ok, ok, I'll have to think of something else to freak everyone out! Just kidding. =D

Eric (Duh)

Commented by totustuus

That is a really great post, Amanda. I have had a lot of those same experiences and feelings.

I remember one penpal that I had a while ago who never wrote me. I was about to send her a letter saying that I was going to stop writing her because I wasn't getting anything in return. But, thankfully, my dad saw the letter before I mailed it. He sat down with me and talked to me about how friendship isn't self centered. The only reason that I wanted to be her penpal was because I wanted to get letters, not give. So, I continued writing to her, despite the fact that she rarely ever responded. Well, a little later on, I got an email from her saying that she was really thankful that I kept on being faithful in writing to her, even though she wasn't always the greatest at replying. She had been going through some rough times, and she was thankful that someone cared enough about her to spend that time to write her letters. She said that it was a really special thing in her life. Since then, I've been trying to give of myself in friendships rather than get people to invest in me. It has been hard at times, and I don't think I can count all of the nights that I've stayed up late crying because I felt lonely. God still hasn't sent me a really close friend that I can share everything with, but I'm content with that because I have Him. I have been able to encourage other people, even if they haven't encouraged me back. I do have some good friends (not really close, but still absolutely wonderful people) like you and other people here on HSB. :-) I am so thankful for that!!

Well, there's my LOOOOONG comment on friendship. Thanks again, Amanda. :-)
Regards,
Sylvia