Quote of the Day:  A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities. – William Arthur Ward

These little guys will be 10 years old next week.  When they were born, my oldest son was six, and my second son was two.  We get more sleep, now, but those were exhausting times back then.  I needed family support and friend support and good, old-fashioned advice and sympathy from all the Grandmas in the neighborhood.
In church last Sunday, the pastor’s message (at least the part that stuck in my head) was on the tests and trials of family and friends.  It’s easy to be there for someone when the times are good, come to the celebrations, help them plan a party.  Then, there are the times when it’s a little harder.  The chaos of walking into a home filled with four small children takes a great deal of courage and energy.  What about the times when friends and family are in crisis and they need a loving voice to say something needs to change.  Or, they’re hurting physcially and emotionally.  Can you be that rock for them when the waves of life are crashing over their heads?
Last week, we learned that President Obama wants to pass laws that allow a more open visitation policy in hospitals.  What has been restricted to blood relatives and spouses, needs to be open to close friends and life partners.  I was thinking, why does that need to be a law?  Why would you tell someone to go away and not show love and support to their friend?  What about the people who don’t have blood relatives to come take care of them and visit them?  What about the people who aren’t married in the traditional sense?  Why do we need laws to allow compassion and love in the time of greatest need?
People who love you need and want to be at your side whether you’re on your birthbed or your deathbed, as you experience the first breath of life, or hear the last.  Theirs is the hand that reaches into the pit and pulls you up.  Thank you, God, for the gift of friendship.
Journaling Prompt:  Remember a time when you were in need and a friend was at your side.  Write a thank you.  Or, describe a time when you were there for someone.