One Friend Times Many

Dan Seals has a song I love called "One Friend."  There is a line in the song that goes, "If I had only one friend left....I'd want it to be you."  Well, I have an issue with that line.  You see I have many good friends and can't imagine which one I could do without.  I have always felt like if I invested my time in a person....they were worthy of being my friend. Each friend I have fills a different place in my heart and has left a different footprint on my heart.  I have friends who share my love of teaching, friends who accept me just as I am, friends who know me better than my family does, friends who are family, friends who helped me raise my daughter, friends who sing with me, friends who have cried with me....and I with them, friends who keep me focused, friends who are Porch People and love sitting on the front porch and socializing as much as I do, friends who are gone, friends I can call in the middle of the night, new friends, old friends. 
People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.  When you figure out which one it is,  you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON,

it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.

They have come to assist you through a difficulty;

to provide you with guidance and support;

to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.

They may seem like a godsend, and they are.

They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,

this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.

Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.

Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.

What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.

The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON,

because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.

They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.

They may teach you something you have never done.

They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.

Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;

things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.

Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,

and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

 

— Unknown 

The word friend is defined as : .

a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically exclusive of sexual or family relations.

synonyms:

companion, soul mate, intimate, confidante, confidant, familiar, alter ego, second self, playmate, playfellow, classmate, schoolmate, workmates.