Good friends are rare, hard to find
By Laura Higgins

Ahhh... the sweet smell of nostalgia. Homecoming renews the memories of yesterday and hopefully brings a smile to your face. One of the primary focuses of our memories will forever be the people we have encountered along the long walk of our lives.

The friends we make are the people who have the power and influence to affect us forever. It is the true friend who loves us even when we are at our worst.

True friends are the ones who will tell you the truth, even when it hurts, and will stand by you when they know that you are making a bad decision. Friends are those who you find yourself pouring your heart out to and those with whom you can truly be yourself. You can count on your friends to be honest and faithful with you (Prov. 17:17).

The story of David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 20) has always been one that amazed me. The love between these two friends was phenomenal. Jonathan was the best friend of the man who would one day displace his father and ultimately take the throne that was rightfully his.

Jonathan knew that eventually he would lose his own life for the sake of defending his friend to his father Saul, thereby aiding David in fulfilling his destiny. He sacrificed his own hopes and dreams for his friend's success. Friends like this are few and far between.

Listening to stories that my own friends have told me about their friends from home has always amazed me. We never truly realize how much God has blessed us in our relationships until we have been separated from them, either by distance or time. I have heard touching stories about friends' dedication and love during the hardest times in life.

Think about it: How willing would you be to open up every corner of your life so that you could allow your friend to live with you to protect him from the horrors of his parents' divorce? How long would you be willing to sacrifice? Days? Weeks? Months?

God gave us friends in this life so that He could have yet another channel for us to see His love in action. Through these people, who look past our shortcomings and love us even though we are not perfect, God allows us to see His mercy, acceptance and favor.

If a friend, who is not perfect and is incapable of unconditional love, can love us in spite of our faults and failures, think about how much more God is able to love us. Each day I am reminded of the impact that my friends have on me.

My friends are primarily responsible for my introduction to the awesome God and my ensuing salvation. That is the greatest gift that I could have ever asked for. My friends see the many facets of my life, personality and character and still choose to love me.

Homecoming is a natural time for us to remember our experiences and those who have shared them with us. When I come back to ORU years from now, I will be able to cherish the memories that I have taken from this place.

I will be able to tell the stories of how God touched my life, how I got my foot stuck in a seat in chapel, how I survived my freshman year. Most of all, though, I will be able to remember those people who were there with me as I laughed, cried and danced through my years here.

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