Here's my sharing from p.79 that is something close to my heart...

FRIENDS

No one has so many friends he or she can afford to squander even one.

John Cherten Collins declared, "In prosperity, our friends know us. In adversity, we know our friends."

The 1828 Noah Webster dictionary says that a friend is "one who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his company and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity." In other words, it means someone who is interested in doing something for another person. A friend is an attendant, a companion, a favourer; one who is propitious. It is a term of salutation.

I agree with the statement that if, at the end of life, we can count at least two people who are true friends willing to do anything for us at the drop of the hat, who stand ready when we are hurting or need help, we are indeed fortunate. I atest to this statement too, having experienced the goodness of my dear friends who surround me.

We can talk with friends about every facet of life - our joys, trials, triumphs, tragedies, hopes, wants and needs. We can make ourselves vulnerable to them, knowing they will always think and act in our best interests.

Joseph Addison held that "friendship improves happiness and abates misery by doubling our joy and dividing our grief."

Robert Hall claimed, "He who has made the acquisition of a judicious and sympathizing friend may be said to have doubled his mental resources."

Since friends and friendships are so valuable, how can you acquire more?

If you go out in life looking for friends, they will be hard to find.

If you go out in life striving to be a friend, you will find them everywhere.

Samuel Johnson said, "If a man does not make new acquaintances as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man should keep his friendship in a constant repair." Follow that advice and you will seldom be lonely.

Indeed, friends mean a lot in my life. I love and care for my friends around me, no matter who they are and how they treat me.

Nonetheless, there will be times of happiness as well as times of bitterness. That's life.

Thank God for the friends HE has given me in my life. Blessings from God with every new friend made.