“God has a bigger vision for

our friendships than we can

ever begin to understand.”

–Angela Sackett –

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The Glory of Friendship

by Debbie Allen

There is a divine beauty to be found in that moment when we first discover the gift of friendship has come our way in life. Instantly, two hearts can feel at home in each other’s presence. Even though they may have just met, they already feel like old friends. Ralph Waldo Emerson put this another way: “The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship.”

Nearly a lifetime ago now, just such a friend stepped into my life. The first few moments of what was to become a life-long friendship, began in the hallway of the Baptist Church we attended with our families.   My best friend, whose name was also Debbie, and I were both young mothers still in our twenties, at the time.  After church one Sunday, Debbie and I decided just a smile-in-passing wasn’t enough anymore, so we stopped to chat face-to-face. Conversation flowed comfortably between us from the beginning. The only thing that was uncomfortable as we stood across from each other that day in the hallway was me. I couldn’t imagine Debbie seeing me as anything but a giant olive standing on two toothpicks! You see, I was v-e-r-y pregnant with my youngest son at the time. Of course, that was anything but true from Debbie’s perspective! She eventually shared with me that what she’d really seen that day when she looked across at me was… ‘the friend she’d been praying for so long for God to bring into her life.’

 You can imagine how very humbled this ‘olive standing on two toothpicks’ felt in that moment! SO humbled…but at the same time SO very grateful; for I, too, received a gift that day! The gift of true friendship which I still treasure, now over forty years later!

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“A friend loves at all times.”

Proverbs 17:17

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Debbie’s always been a true friend to me; the kind of friend whose footprints will remain imprinted in my heart for all eternity.  She and I have shared so many precious times together. At one point, we were seen so often together, we were dubbed by others as, “The Debbies”. Our response? “Two-gether is always better!” No one ever argued the truth of that!

Whether Debbie and I were away on a church women’s retreat, sharing coffee and chat at our favorite Starbucks, or sipping on a glass of cabernet while doing crafts in her basement, the camaraderie only grew sweeter and the friendship deeper because of those times we chose to pass sitting in each other’s presence.  Eventually, our friendship expanded to include our husbands and children.  In our younger years, our families camped, hiked and canoed together, times too numerous to count.  Debbie and I still reminisce fondly over all the memorable weekend getaways she and I planned and spent with our Hubbies.  There were also the seasonal concerts we attended, and the family sleepovers we participated in on New Year’s Eve for many years. Such occasions provided us the perfect back drop for engaging in an all-night game of Pinochle or Texas Hold ’em! And last but not least…there were the good old days of the Backyard BBQ’s and Bubinga Nights that will never be forgotten! Bubinga was a very special telescope Debbie’s husband, Bruce, designed and built by hand. He spent so many hours and such late nights working beside Bubinga; that Debbie came to refer to this ‘thing of great beauty’ as ‘the mistress.’ Of course…we all understood Debbie was just kidding. And yet… somehow Bubinga ended up in pieces; stashed between the bedroom closet and the farthest corner of the garage.  Perhaps Bubinga’s silent message to the world in all of this is, ‘Some friendships are meant to be, and some are not. LOL!

In all seriousness, friendship is not to be taken lightly in this life.  All friendships are built on a certain level of love, devotion and trust, but I consider Debbie and I’s friendship unique, in that it was also founded on the wings of prayer. God was and still is at the heart of our friendship. Because of that, the time we share together…whether in seasons of great blessing or in great sorrow, the bond of friendship is both deepened and heightened by God’s Greater Love present between us.

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“A sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”

Proverbs 7:9

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Finding a true friend who’s willing to take time out of their own life, to strengthen you with their presence and prayers, bless you with their love and devotion, and faithfully, encourage your heart with fresh hope and inspiration; is a rare and beautiful gift. Ecclesiastes 6:14 speaks of such a friend as being “a great treasure.”

 Through this legacy of friendship Debbie and I have shared down through the years, God has taught me that true friendship magnifies God’s Heart in so many ways. Friendship is about just ‘being with’ someone who allows you to be yourself in their presence; and they love you anyway. Over time, they become our most trusted confidants, and the prayer warriors our hearts can count on, to drop to their knees at a moment’s notice and struggle alongside of us in every season and through every storm of our life. We always have the freedom to laugh or cry and sometimes both, in the trusted presence of a true friend. Friends are always a phone call or text away, and never fail to step in and act as the timely voice of wisdom when our hearts are hurting the most.

Even as I write these words, I can’t help but see the Goodness of God’s Heart woven throughout the gift of True Friendship.  Every aspect of it points us to God’s Unconditional Love and His Abundant Grace. If I look a little deeper, I see the glory of friendship as two-fold. From my own experience I’ve come to look upon this gift as both a rare treasure and a great reward.

 A rare treasure, in that as we walk side by side in a true friendship before others, we become God’s earthly reminders to a hurting world that we don’t have to walk through life alone. There is Someone Who Loves us for who we are, no matter what. 

God also intended the gift of friends to be a great reward to you. When you feel the warmth of a friend’s arms around your shoulders, hear the voice of encouragement in your ears, or sense the strength that rises when a friend comes alongside you in your pain; your heart can know without doubt… that it is the very Presence of God Loving you through the gift of that friend He gave to you!  And that has to be the Greatest Reward that any true friend could ever receive on earth!

“The Faithfulness of God’s Love is the very Source of Love

that sustains and nourishes every true friendship.”

–D. Allen–

Dearest Lord, the treasure of true friendship on this earth is one of Your greatest gifts to us. Please help us to walk wisely within them, and to see friendships as the blessings you meant them to be to us. Thank you for the joy they bring us, for the prayers they pray with us, for the shelters they become to us, and for the encouragement they offer our hearts in every season. I praise You Jesus, for being our Greatest Friend in this life; and for the Faithfulness of Your Love, which is the very Source of Love that sustains and nourishes our truest friendships on earth. May our friendships continue pointing others to the One Who Loves them most in this broken world we live in. Your Friendship is our Greatest Treasure and our Highest Reward both now and forevermore! In Jesus Name…Amen