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Making A Friend
My sister and I
attended a country
school; and, as
often happens with
children, two of our
friends got mad at
us and decided not
to speak to us. This
bothered me a lot,
so I wanted to do
something to help us
become friends
again. I wrote a
little song that my
sister and I sang to
them. I can still
remember the tune
and the words:
Friends, friends,
friends.
We have some friends
we love.
We love our friends
and they love us;
We help our friends
and they help us.
Friends, friends,
friends.
We have some friends
we love.
Such a simple little
song, but it
accomplished its
purpose. The two
girls became our
friends again.
That little
childhood experience
has been repeated in
various ways and at
different times
throughout my life.
Whenever I have
known or felt that
someone didn’t like
me, or if someone
has been unkind to
me, I have made a
special effort to
turn that person
into a friend.
One time, I heard
that someone had
been talking about
me, so I invited her
to lunch. We had a
great time. She
confessed that I was
not at all the way
she had imagined me
to be. She became a
very good friend.
On another occasion,
there was a woman
who was not well
liked and she
treated me very
unkindly. I
determined I would
show her love and
make a friend of
her. The process of
making her a friend
changed her
completely. I never
mentioned the way
she had treated me
to her. I thought
she probably didn’t
even remember what
she had done, but
one day she
surprised me by
apologizing for the
way she had acted.
She eventually died
of lung cancer, but
before she did, I
was able to comfort
her and share
Christ’s love with
her.
So many times in
life we run across
people that "turn us
off" or even hurt us
by their actions.
Their behaviors make
them very hard to
like. However, these
people are often the
very ones who most
need a friend and
who need to be shown
Christ’s love. Many
times they are
hurting, but they
might respond to a
loving hand held out
to them. After all,
we all need friends,
and to have a friend
we must be a friend.
We can never win
someone to the Lord
until they first see
His love shining
through us. Let's
not let the initial
hurtful or rude
behaviors of others
keep us from showing
them the love of
Jesus. Who knows
what He can do in
their lives if we
choose to love them
and give them a
chance to be our
friends.
A friend loves at
all times. (Proverbs
17:17 NRSV)
Do for others what
you would like them
to do for you. This
is a summary of all
that is taught in
the law and the
prophets. (Matthew
7:12)
Betty Jo
Mings
2004
Copyrighted. All
rights reserved.
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