Friends

From the show, "Cheers" to "Friends" to other ensemble shows on T.V., our culture and society honors and relishes friendship.

I reconnected with a friend from junior high and high school today. It was fun to catch up on all that has been going on in our lives over the years. We both have adult children, moving on with our chosen career paths, and look forward to seeing one another with our wives in a few weeks.

Friendship. Relationship. So very important. As I grow older, I realize more and more that they, outside of my relationship with Christ and my family are what's important in life. People. Connection. Sharing. Laughing. Crying.

A study conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, released in June of 2006, revealed that Americans have less people they can confide in than past generations.

In 1985, the average American had three people in whom to confide matters that were important to them. In 2004, that number dropped to two.

Perhaps even more striking, the number of Americans with no close friends rose from 10 percent in 1985 to 24.6 percent in 2004.

Do you have any close friends?

Let ask you the question this way: If you were to die today, how many people (true friends) would your spouse or friend or partner be able to find to carry your casket?

Think about it for a moment.

It's an interesting question isn't it. Name them out loud. Write them down.

A good baramoter of this is this: How many people have you had over for dinner lately?

We all need close friends. How do I get close friendships? By being a friend. By reaching out. By going out of my comfort zone and meeting new people. By being concerned about the needs of others.

A recent USA Today article portrayed vividly the courage of true friendship:

Anne Hjelle and Debbie Nichols were friends who were mountain biking on a wilderness trail near Mission Viejo, California, when a 110-pound mountain lion sprang from the brush, pounced on Anne's back, and dragged her off by the head.

Nichols screamed for help and grabbed Hjelle's legs, trying to free her and engaging in a desperate tug of war with the cat while other cyclists threw rocks at the cat until it fled.

Jacke Van Woerkom said she was riding behind Hjelle and Nichols and later spoke to Nichols at the hospital.

"She had some blood on her face. She definitely showed signs of a major struggle," Van Woerkom said. "She was shaking, trembling. She said, 'I was not going to let go. I was not going to let go.'"

Nichols described the tenacity of the cat, saying, "This guy [the cat] would not let go. He had a hold of her face…"

But the tenacity of the cat, was overcome by the faithfulness of a friend. She continued, "I just told her, 'I'm never letting go.'"

Now that's a friend. With friends like that - it doesn't matter what kind of enemy you have.