What type of friend are you?

It seems like the Lord has really been challenging me over the last year and a half when it comes to friendships. It seems like I've never had so much change in my relationships with friends as I've had in the last year and a half.

I've had friends come back into my life that I'd never thought would, and then leave again...I've have a best friend leave my life that I never thought would...I've had friendships that struggled grow to be something great...I've had close friendships struggle and falter...I've had friends that I thought were friends end up not able to keep their word...I've had friends drop everything to come over and take care of me...then I've had friends want to work things out after a long period of silence.

It's really makes me wonder what is God trying to teach me about friendship? What type of friend am I called to be as a Christian. In my opinion, friendships are similar to marriage. They take work and time. I just hope that I can be the friend that forgives when forgiveness is needed that I can ask for forgiveness when forgiveness is needed.

My yoga teacher said yesterday that we often just need to forget the story and forgive. I'm going to try that this week. I'm going to forget the past..the story...and give and ask for forgiveness when forgiveness is needed.

I love this quote about friendship: "When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares." ~Henri Nouwen