Friendship

 "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17

"A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24

I have never been through a divorce. Kathy and I were married as teenagers and she died a grandma. We were married until death did us part. So divorce was not something that I experienced.

The closest that I have come to divorce is when I feel like I have lost an old friend. I have been through this many times over the years. Men who I considered friends have turned on me or disappeared or vanished into the darkness of forgetfulness. Usually this does not bother me. But sometimes it hurts. When it hurts is when it feel like divorce. They are still around, but they have offended me or I have offended them and our friendship has died.

I am not of the opinion that dissolved friendship proves there never was true friendship. There are men who know things about me that no one else knows. I know things about them. We have shared hopes and fears and secrets. And now, they are gone.

Sometimes it is not a breach in relationship will break that bond. Sometimes it is absence or changing circumstances or family responsibilities. Some friendships just fade away. But some end and that's the end of it. I find myself wanting to call and knowing that I must not.

The final word on this is that Jesus never gets in a huff or throws a fit. He is that friend who is closer than a brother. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is ever faithful.