“There is nothing on this earth more to be prized than true friendship.”
Thomas Aquinas
There are those friends who only are around when things are good. I refer to them as fair weather friends. Then there are those who are there to share in our windfalls and when that is gone so are they.
Then there are those that are there during the rough times to help you through. I refer to them as the roughneck friends.
A true friend is one that accepts you for who you are even if you have a difference of opinions on some things. It’s hard to find two people who agree with each other 100% of the time. That shouldn’t have an affect on a friendship. True friends inspire one another. They help you find the light at the end of the tunnel when you thought all was lost. They are the ones on the other end of the phone at 3 a.m. who you called just because you needed to talk to someone. They instill confidence within us. They are good listeners and they are there to support us. They overlook our failures and share in our successes. They rekindle our inner spirit. True friendship is the greatest gift of life.
doubledacres 
So true Wayne. I am often challenged in my wonderings of how good of a friend am I to my friends? I’m afraid I fall short often. I guess I need to practice on those who could be when I can.
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Gary I don’t think you are by yourself. I think the majority of us fall short. I know I could do better myself. I would bet by just reading your posts and your comments I would be willing to bet you are doing a pretty good job of being a true friend.
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Here’s to friendships and campfire talks Wayne. You have a merry Christmas. I plan on rallying some friends and siblings for some good ice fishing and a fish fry this season. ATV’s are safe on our 80 acre lake ice but not pickup trucks yet. Below zero nights for the next couple weeks will take care of that.
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I would love to sit around your campfire. I think that is where a lot of true friendships begin. Merry Christmas to you and your family and may God bestow upon you many blessings in the new year. Good fishing and be safe.
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“A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24
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Love that. Thanks for sharing.
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“True friendship is the greatest gift of life!” I’m quoting your last line because I just Love it and your post. I give that an Amen. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I’ve been struggling with a super duper close friendship, my best friend who I grew up with and to be honest she had hurt my feelings in many ways this last year. I confronted her with my feelings and it just went south, where she turned on me and said I’m hurting her feelings and it got a little ugly but we’ve been friends for 50 years and so we put this all behind us and are still friends and will be for life. I feel like she could be a better listener, I feel like she didn’t apologize to me but did she and I wasn’t listening?
Hmm.. I’ve been trying for months to forgive her and slowly I’m letting go of the hurt but it takes time. We are evolving and our friendship to me is a bit different now as I’ve pulled back, I feel like she’s pushing me away. But you give great advice because true friends don’t agree with everything, that helps me see we are different. She is my horsey friend, who I use to ride with almost every day but not anymore. But as our friendship has changed, we may need some time for my heart to heal. We’ve known each other since we were 10 years old, I know we will grow old together. You just stirred all these emotions with friendships and I’m seeing a better path! Thank you for some clarity!!! (Sorry for the long response as I went on a ramble of thoughts!) Take care my friend! 🥰
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First no apology necessary. I have a friend that we don’t agree on a lot of things. We just agree to disagree so we can enjoy the things that we agree on. Wow. That didn’t make much sense. I wish I could explain it better. Don’t give up on her. Remember the things that made you such good friends. Feed the positive things in your friendship. Let go of that moment in your friendship and move on. A good friendship is like a marriage. It takes a lot of work to keep it healthy. There will be good times and bad times but what really matters is how we handle the bad times. Sorry I just can’t seem to find the right words tonight. I hope you understand what I’m trying to say. I wish you two the best.
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Phew, I thought my rambling was a bit much, so thank you! I totally understand what you are trying to say. My friend and I have definitely said to each other over silly disagreements, let’s just agree to disagree and we move on. When I want to shut the door completely on my friend these last few months I know that’s not right and not really what I want. I realize and say to myself how fair am I being to her, as my wounds slowly heal. And you are so right, a good friendship is work and I’m learning as much as I thought we were so alike and I’m discovering how completely different we have become. Lots of things I think over time can affect how you see life, and so I’m learning to be happy with what ever she can give from her side of the friendship if that makes any sense at all… I can’t talk about this on my blog because she reads my blog but she doesn’t read WordPress nor your blog so it’s all good. Sigh, you have been so kind and it definitely helps working through these thoughts. We will be fine as I feel that in my bones but I thank you for the best wishes!
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I love the comments you leave. You give me inspiration. By your comments I can tell you are a ykind and caring person. She is lucky to have a friend like you. You’ve got this. You will work through this.
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i couldn’t agree more…
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as if the photo couldn’t have said it better, you wrote it so well!
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Thank you so much.
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