What’s in a Friendship?

What's in a Friendship?

We tend to rate a good friendship
By how well he or she has our back
But I'm here to tell you straight
That's thinkin' with only half the sack

What am I talkin' about?
What's the other half you're askin?
Gimme a minute, see if you agree
With this reality I'm unmaskin'

I reckon most of us still breathin'
Our own weaknesses we can see
Fact is it haunts lotsa' folks every day
How to, from them faults, be set free

Well the good book will direct us
On how to walk good with Him
By readin' reg'lar and prayin'
And standin' Sundays for each and ever' hymn

But there's another side to gettin' better
Another helper we can personally control
And ain't it excitin' folks
Knowin' we have help right here in our soul?

'See, real friends will inspire us
They'll demand we reach to be more
To be all we were designed to be
If not, they'll give us what for.

And it's not so much with outright speakin'
They mostly need not verbalize corrections
No they'll likely just do it through modelin'
Livin' right with shared affections

Y'see we all seek approval from others
Though some of us will sure deny it
So I've learned to be careful my "others"
Are chosen from those who're fit

'Course I ain't talkin 'bout flat bellies
I'm not suggesting you seek athletic friends
No I'm sayin' linger with the wise
Cuz on them your future depends

I knew an older man for a time
He was so much wiser than me
I somehow hung on most of his words
Not realizin' what a blessing they'd be

He said, "You will become like the books
That you will read and seek
And like people you choose to spend time with"
Truest claim I ever heard him speak

Wish I could say I'd branded that truth
That I'd immediately made it my own
It's taken some time to practice that motto
But I'm livin' better since those seeds were sown

Last night visitin' in some newer friends' home
With my bride smilin' at my side
I caught myself admirin' their humility
A trait where I so want to abide

So this morning I'm a'sittin here ponderin'
'Bout those friends who had us over last night
I believe God put them in our path
Right friends to improve my strugglin' plight

So thank you Lord for givin' me
Access to the full sack and more
It's equipped me to walk closer to You
A man by whom you might set store

But perhaps even more important
Is another piece for which I'm beholdin'
That You made me friend-worthy
When my behavior and traits You were moldin'

by Rik Goodell

© 2021. All rights reserved

David Graham has been an encourager and supportive friend to my poetry endeavors for several years.

To see more of his work, go to his website: https://www.davidgrahamart.com/