113 - Relationship with Others (Part 2)
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What is a friend?
A friend is someone who cuts your sorrows in half and doubles your joy.
A friend is someone whose sorrows you cut in half and you double their joy.
If a person has three people in their life right now who fit this description, that person is very blessed.
You cannot have too many genuine friends.
For friendship to develop, it requires:
time
truth-telling
trust
experiences
You cannot develop friendships with a lot of people because of the limitations of time and the requirements of daily life.
You can be a pastor, politician, or public figure and have thousands of acquaintances, experiences, and do a lot of good, and still not have that confidant, the person in the night you can reach out to.
You can have lots of genuine friends over a lifetime, and if you live long enough, you will have many people you carry in your heart who are friends. You remember them, and can recall life together if you ever meet again.
You have friends if you are available in heart to have them.
Ultimately, a friend is a person who desires your good. If you desire others’ good, you are available to have a lot of friends over a lifetime.
Friendship and The Giant Oak Tree
On Thursday night, April 16th, I was at my office preparing for Champion’s Path the following day. I had been in the building for about twenty minutes when a storm blew in. My truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot. I parked under our beloved Giant Oak Tree, which some of you have heard us talk about. During the short storm, the wind and rain shook the building; after the storm began to subside, I went to view the damage. Half of the oak tree had fallen on the bed of my truck and crushed it. The beloved oak tree, probably 250 years old, was half gone, and so was my truck!
The beautiful blessing in this sad event is that I have friends. I called a friend who has my insurance. Mike answered my call at 8:30 that night. I called my friend, Alex, who came to pick me up and take me home. I called my friend, Chad, who owns the building, to warn him about what he would face in the morning. I called Sonya, my best friend/wife to tell her what had happened and that I was okay. She asked if I needed her to come get me. I told her, Alex was coming.
The next morning, I was asked if we would still hold the all-day Champions Path event. I had not even considered that we wouldn’t have the event. I hadn’t given it a thought because I had assessed the situation and knew that we could continue—because of friends.
The List
As we began the next morning, I shared “how come” I could continue to lead our work for the day without the accident preoccupying my energy. I told them that it was because I have a LIST.
If a person has a list of friends, associates, and known helpers, they can almost always continue on their mission or complete the tasks before them—because they are not alone.
I thank God for our Lists of friends. Without God, the ultimate Friend (I do not use that word, Friend, about God in any way that makes God small), and others who are the hands, the feet, the voice, and care of God in our lives, we cannot stay on mission.
If you have a LIST, you are not alone.
Alone is the worst place a person can ever find themselves.
Not being alone starts with God and ends with friends, and sometimes starts with being befriended and introduces us to the ultimate Friend.
If you have a LIST, you are never alone.
Dr. Chip Dodd
Voice of the Heart Center
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