For My Friend. . .

Nothing is better than the love of a friend. A real, genuine, authentic friend. Not money or fame or fortune or employment or home ownership or vacation or theater or music or art or nature or new socks or a fire in the fire place or a good book or sex or parasailing or swimming with dolphins or playing guitar or singing or laughing or food or alcoholic beverages or a night out on the town or chocolate or shopping or the smell of freshly cut grass or gas prices falling beneath $3.00 a gallon or exercise or a walk in the park or an ice cream cone or flying or driving along side the ocean or a perfectly cooked steak or a new suit or sleeping in late on Sundays or meeting the president of the USA or even the pope. Nothing. Nothing beats the love of a friend. Everything else is temporary. It doesn't last. It's wonderful in the moment, but then it's gone again. A friend's love is constant. It's permanent. It's unchanging and predictable and steady and real. It's there for you when nothing else is. It's rock steady. It lifts you up when you are feeling down. It lifts you higher when you're already up. It helps make you all you can be and then some. It reminds you that there's nothing you can't do. It encourages you. The love of a friend allows you to be your real, genuine, authentic self. The love of a friend does not require you to be someone or something that you're not. Instead, it just lets you be you and celebrates you as you are. The love of a friend is priceless. It transcends time and space. When you fall on your ass, the love of a friend picks you up, dusts you off and gets you on your path again. The love of a friend sees you through even your darkest hour and when you come through on the other side, it's still right there cheering you on to new heights. The love of a friend can't be bought or sold. It just is. Thank God I have it. Thank God that He saw fit to give me the love of one really good, genuine, authentic, beautiful friend. Without her, I'd be lost. Without her, I just couldn't do what life requires of me. Without her, the sun might not rise tomorrow. But with her, I am empowered. I am energized. I am new again. She makes me know that I matter. Because of her, I know there's nothing I can't do. God bless and God speed my beautiful friend. Your love saves me, it really does.