Friendship

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I've thought a lot about friendship this week. I do that every now and then, taking time to thank God for people who have meant so much to me at various times in my life. I also ask Him to help me be a real friend, which doesn’t always come easily.

Sorry to burst your bubble if you had any illusions to the contrary, but sometimes friendship isn't easy. It asks us to trust, to believe, to give. It asks us to take. For some of us, at some times, those aren’t easy things to do. Yet in the end, the momentary discomfort is more than worth it. It’s sad but true that friendships come and go as people change, but hopefully we wish everyone well whom we ever call “friend.”

I’ve probably had friendship on my mind so much because I’ve met new people recently and learned more about existing acquaintances, making me more aware of how wonderful it is to have friends and how fulfilling it is to be one.

So, dear readers, I take this opportunity to thank you for your time and indulgence. To my friends, past and present, I thank you more than you know for your love and patience, and for what you taught me, because I’ve learned something from every one of you. To my future friends, I say another “thank you,” because God and friends make life worthwhile. I also challenge everyone to thank your friends for being there for you and to emphasize to them your willingness to be there for them.

Encouragement and Hope

Never give up; you never know until you try.

I recently attended a job fair and experienced something remarkable. Despite the economic crunch and the fact that there were hundreds in attendance, vying for fewer jobs than there were people, the atmosphere was one of hope. People were polite to each other. They'd better be, you say, since potential employers were watching, but I have seen people behaving less than their best in similar situations. Desperation can do that to people, yet at this job fair, people encouraged each other. There was no air of desperation that I noticed. I came away feeling encouraged and hopeful, which is the opposite of how job fairs can make a person feel. As I said, it was remarkable.

So chin up, fellow job seekers! Many may still be out of work and following up on any lead they get, dreading the next job fair, but my experience proves that a job fair can actually be an uplifting experience. Who knew?