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A Summer of Friendship

"We thank the Lord for Nakanawa. We thank the Lord for our friends."
 

My Friend

I love you not only for who you are,
But for what I am when I am with you.

I love you not only for what you have made of yourself,
But for what you are making of me.

I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me good,
and more than any fate could have done to make me happy.

You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign.
You have done it by being yourself.
Perhaps that is what being a friend means after all.

-Roy Croft

A Camper's Prayer

God of the hills, grant me Thy strength
to go back into the cities without faltering--
and give me strength to help my neighbor
who has no hills to remember.

God of the lake, grant me Thy peace
to bring into a world of confusion,
and Thy restfulness that I may be content
to do small things with a freedom from littleness--
With Thy deep depths within my soul
to bear with me in the crowded places:
And the laughter of sunny waves to brighten the long winter.

God of the stars, may I take back
the gift of friendship and love for all.

God of the wilderness, with the pure winds from the Northland,
blow away my selfishness and hypocrisy.

Amen.

Summer's End

I pray I will be happy
to start another year
as summer ends and summer friends
begin to disappear.

I pray I will be able
to handle what they ask
of me in school and yet keep cool
when I can't do they task.

I pray I will be ready
to face my friends again
if they have changed and rearranged
what friendship means to them.

I pray I will be eager
to try what's hard and new
and not lose sight of my soul's right
to shine through what I do.

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