"A horse is like a best friend. They're always there to nuzzle you and make your life a better place." -- Anonymous
Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window and saw some serious horseplay going on in our neighbor's corral, so I grabbed my camera to get a few photos. As I watched the mare and gelding nuzzle and nibble each other, gallop and buck, I saw more than a couple of animals messing around. I saw two best friends sharing life.
The subject of friendship is often on my mind these days. One of our best friends has been diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer. We're praying for a miracle.
Henri J.M. Nouwen, in the The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey, writes of friendship:
"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives means the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving much advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a gentle and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."
Over the years, I've been blessed with friends like those Nouwen describes. Through their example I learned that our best friends are those who don't try to fix things when we're hurting. They simply come alongside us and share our pain. More and more, this is the friend I aspire to be.
"Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ."
Galatians 6:2
Nancy
You are that friend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sue. I learned much of what it means to be a true friend from you.
ReplyDelete