Relationships / Friendships

Yesterday must have been the day to catch up with old friends.  First I met a friend, who I haven't seen since Spring of this year, at the smoke shop.  We fellowshipped while smoking our pipes for about an hour and a half.  Then I called a friend in North Carolina, someone I haven't talked with in over four years.  I had sent him an email, which must have been lost in cyberspace, but nothing replaces an old-fashioned phone call.  Talking in person or over the phone is invaluable and irreplaceable.  To cap the day I spent about forty-five minutes speaking with one of my two closest friends in Houston.  I am reminded of the biblical proverb, "A man that has friends must first show himself friendly: and there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  Relationships take time, energy, and effort.  Fast friends aren't worth their weight in salt.  Strong friendships take years to develop, usually after a trial of the soul or refiner's fire.  have you shown yourself friendly?  Are you willing to invest what is necessary to become and have a friendship?  Take a look inward to your soul, and you will find out if you have what it takes.