Why is it important to have friends? This question reminds me of a meeting I had with my guidance counselor in high school… I went to see him because I felt I was not able to make good friends. At the time I was shy and insecure. He gave me an assignment to go to downtown Montego Bay, Jamaica and position myself in the front of Woolworth department store and introduce myself to anyone that happened to walk by.

I could not get up the courage to complete the assignment, but the reason he gave as to why people need friends is that friends help in times of need. The 1985 song by Dionne Warwick & friends song comes to mind, “That’s What Friends Are For”. Comes to mind every time I think of why we have close or best friends.

The challenge I have faced though is to discern which friends are good friends that I can count on, and which friends are bad news… As Proverbs 18:24 says There are friends who destroy each other but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

Another revelation I had about friendship was that to attract good friends, one must be a good friend. A good friend that is reliable, dependable, trustworthy, a confidant, a shoulder to cry on, an encourager, a supporter, never a judge and someone you can come to get an honest answer.

I came across some quotes on friendship…

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.” – William Shakespeare

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.” – Helen Keller

“You can go through life and make friends every year – every month practically – but there is never any substitute for those friendships of childhood that survive into adult years. These are the ones in which we are bound to one another with hoops of steel.” – Alexander McCall Smith

In analysing my life, I have or had some wonderful friends and I cherish their friendship, and I have had some toxic ones that I am happy we are no longer friends. Some I needed to forgive in order to move on, others it was important that I forget them.

Friendship is a two-way street like any other relationship, if you’re so called friend is taking more than they are giving, does not have your best interest in mind, or is sucking your peace its time to move on.