Make New Friends...And Cherish The Old

Ecclesiastes 4:10-12 -  If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble.  And on a cold night, two under the same blanket can gain warmth from each other. But how can one be warm alone?  A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

 

Solomon’s wisdom allowed him to reflect on the value of friendship and the strength that companionship gave the Christian soul.  His words reveal the truth that God made man to fellowship with him.  God created man….then said clearly in Genesis  that is was not good for him to be alone.  Eve was fashioned out of man’s rib…to be his helpmeet….and create on the Earth a nation of people to work together for the good of man.

 

Life was created for companionship….not loneliness.  We need to always remember the value of the other people God has placed in our life….and use them to help us be the best that God intended for us to be.  We need others to lift us up when we fall down.  We need others to straighten us out when we are confused.  Sometimes…we just need others to hold our hand…so we know that we are not alone in our sorrows.

 

I am reminded by this scripture that I need to stop and thank God for the many friends….Christian brothers and sisters….family….and even some total strangers he has allowed to be my companions over the years. I learned a phrase very early from a song I learned in Girl Scouts that sums up the process of making and cherishing the many people God has used to shape…mold….comfort…and strengthen me in my 55 years of life.  It says… “make new friends….but keep the old…one is silver and the other gold.”

 

 

Father…thank you so much for all the friends you have blessed me with throughout my life. Thank  you for reminding me that these  family…colleagues….and friends were gifts from you.  Forgive me for taking some of them for granted. Help me to use them more …..love them more…and pray for them more.  Amen.