Sacrifices for Friendship

Friendship teaches us to look out for someone beside ourselves. And it rewards us with many gifts of the heart. Friendship is an investment of time, feelings, caring and sometimes even material things. We can usually give a heartfelt smile when we think of how our "investments" have grown over the years. And we are usually proud to be among our peers that we have chosen along the way to become our journey mates. Sometimes friendship and family go hand in hand. There are quite a few examples I've seen and I'm sure you have too, about siblings and parent child friendships that are best of friends. It's an added blessing when the people you grow up with are the exact personality that you prefer in a friendship.

The good part about making any sacrifices for a friend is that is doesn't feel so much like a sacrifice as a gift you want to bestow upon this person because you are glad they are in your life. That is because being friends is a two way street and you each get your turn at the receiving end. When a friendship involves all sacrifice and no rewards, it is very hard to do, but you must reevaluate this relationship and move on.

Sometimes the sacrifice involves time; relationships bloom when quality time is spent nurturing them. Other times it may involve patience, biting our tongue and waiting to see how the situation turns out. There are times we have to be our friend's cheerleader, even when we ourselves do not have a cheering bone in our body that day! The best part of having friends whom we know even better than ourselves is; we usually know intuitively what that person will need from us when they ask for help, and visa-versa. Sometimes just hearing that person's voice is like medicine to heal you, it calms your soul. There are also times that this person wants to hear a truth that they could not hear from anyone else but their best friend. It really is true "no man is an island". We truly need relationships in our lives. And to sustain those relationships, the sacrifices are worth those rewards.

I cherish all of my friendships. From the person I chat with on the bus that I don't even know their last name; to the best friend I still have from grade school that compares notes with me on "getting old". Friendships are the icing on the cake of life and definitely worth the sacrifices we go through. No amount of material wealth can compete with a hug that warms your heart!