Friendship....

"Dear George: Remember no man is a failure who has friends."

~ It's a Wonderful Life

This week I have been thinking about "friends."

We have many kinds of friends, work friends, social friends, childhood friends, high school or college friends, gym friends, church friends, even Facebook friends.  But what do you call a friend who has been with you through thick and thin? The kind of friends who tell you when you are off track. Real friends can confront you and bring you back from the brink of disaster. Friends love and love being truthful.  

A sign that you have "true" friends are when you share the good, the bad and the ugly about yourself, and they still stand by you. 

A true friend is a good listener and casts no judgment.  

A true friend is faithful & forgiving. 

A true friend understands your tears and is more valuable than friends who only know your smile.

If you have true friends, be grateful. Very grateful. Don't be shy tell them how much you appreciate them! Call them, visit them, whatever it needs to be, be sure to tell them. 

"If you have one true friend in the world, you are very rich." ~ Alistair Begg

I started thinking about true friendship when I read this week that the owners of Weddings PEI (Diana Lariviere and William Caw), are offering free vow renewals in 2017, for couples married more than 50 years. I thought wow 50 years is something and I am sure at the foundation of their marriages you will find true friendship. 

Also, this week learned about the efforts being made by Island Matters Rug Hooking Group to grow the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation’s Rug Registry. A database of hooked rugs and information about the rug hookers who create them. The group is hoping to preserve this information before the art fades away.

Hooked rugs were traditionally made by Island women from burlap bags and scraps of wool to help keep the floors of their homes warm. For that reason, hooked rugs are popular in the Maritime Provinces, and I am sure many friendships were made in rug hooking circles.

Nelsena, my wife Shirley's (my true friend) mom hooked rugs, not so much for the art but practical purposes.  With limited resources, she made rugs to assist transforming a house into a home with warmth and love. Something she strived for all her life, and one of the many reasons I admired her. 

Thank you for listening.

Last but not least, I read somewhere, if you want a friend, be a friend. 

Take care friends, 

Bruce