What is a TRUE Friend??

The older I get the more I realize how truly expressive the traditional wedding vows are of true friendship. "For better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health."
Many who say these vows are doing so with the person they call their best friend, their love, their spouse. It wasn't until recently I realized just how powerful those vows are in relation to friendship.

A marriage is one of the highest forms of covenant between two individuals in our modern society, but not only that, a marriage is a true expression of a true friendship! As I began thinking about wedding vows that I heard in a movie recently and also thinking about "friendships" in my own life... I realized how much we have missed. So often we focus on the negative circumstances in those vows, the "when things get rough and your world is falling apart you can count on me" times. But, there's a flip side to that. It should be just as important to be there in the "I'm on top of the world" times! That's a successful relationship, whether it be marriage or friendship, when you are there and committed in EVERY season of life.



It seems some people thrive off of "loving" people that are only going through negative times, because they think that they're the ones that really need their love. It is as if they have this need to feel needed. But you know, the people going through good and successful times in life need love too, because at the end of the day, they also need to know that they are treasured and loved dearly. You build a marriage off of love demonstrated in the hard times only and I guarantee it will fail, because love is something ALL people need in ALL walks of life. Many marriages fail during times of success and wealth, because one spouse just got content with things being good, and forgot the importance of doing what they vowed, to love the other spouse fully and completely in the bad times AND in the GOOD times! And, sadly, many people do this in their friendships with others.

So, a true friend is one who loves you when you are poor, but they also love you when you are rich. A true friend loves you in the worst of times, but they're also there right by your side in the best. A true friend loves you when you're sick/hurting, but wraps you in their love when you're happy, healthy, and whole. A true friend lends a hand when you stumble and fall, and gives applause when you're running sure and strong! A true, genuine friend is CONSTANT. They're a constant companion, never wavering, in every season and circumstance of life, good or bad.

Seek to always be a TRUE friend! Love people "for better or worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health." Demonstrate true love, even when it seems the other person doesn't needs it... I guarantee you, they need it greatly!

Be a True Friend,
JRT