In June I got the opportunity to travel to Panama City Beach with Sulphur Springs Baptist Church and speak at their annual retreat.  It was a great time for me personally and marked a turning point in my life.  (That is one of the great things about life; you can change it any time you want to.  And I chose to change some things, let go of some hurts, forgive myself, and begin really living my life again.  It was upon my return from this trip that I sent out my first Photo of the Day.)

          In this photo is my new friend, Derrick.  Derrick is 100% boy.  One moment you are talking to him and the next moment you are wondering where he is and usually surprised at what he is doing.  I love Derrick; he is my kind of guy.  He seems to always have the gift of squeezing every bit of enjoyment out of each thing he does.  The only bad thing about being Derrick’s friend is this; you cannot keep up with him.  He has too much energy and enthusiasm.  But it is great trying.

          As I look at this photo, I am reminded of all the friendships I made on this trip and I am amazed at how they have altered and shaped my life.  It is miraculous to see how a friendship can change your life.  A true friend is someone who encourages you to do your best and brings out the best in you; someone who gives you courage and strength when you want to run and hide.  A Friend doubles our joys and divides our grief; someone who knows all our faults but still loves us.  Friends are God’s life preservers and security blankets.

          Today, let us pause and appreciate those people we call friends.  Those people you work with who put joy in your job and a smile on your face, your friends from school, neighbors and team mates.  No matter where they are today, we ought to be thankful for them.  But we should go one step further; not only should we think about them, but we should let them know what they mean to us.  Tell them.  Look them in the eye, open your heart, be honest and let them know.

          Lastly, we should strive to be a true friend.  Friendship is in loving rather than in being loved; it is found in tender words and kind actions (and the occasional practical joke).  Let us be the first to reach out to those we meet who are in desperate need of a friend.  Friendship is one of the sweetest joys of life. Many might have failed beneath the bitterness of their trial had they not found a friend.  Be a friend to someone today, what have you got to lose?

Something to think about:

• Oh, the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breath of kindness blow the rest away.

• Do not keep the alabaster boxes of your love and tenderness sealed up until your friends are dead. Fill their lives with sweetness. Speak approving cheering words while their ears can hear them and while their hearts can be thrilled by them.

• Blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of God’s best gifts. It involves many things, but above all, the power of going out of one’s self and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another.

• Sojourn in every place as if you meant to spend your life there, never omitting an opportunity of doing a kindness, speaking a true word, or making a friend.

Your friend
Rickey Moore