Blog 3465 – 04.29.2025
Friends
It is hard to overestimate the importance of friends. Some years ago Barbara Walters interviewed several people who were over a hundred years old and still quite active. She asked them what was their secret to living so long and staying so alert and active.
One man’s answer stuck with me. He said the secret to a long and happy life was to continually be making new and younger friends. I was a soldier once over fifty years ago and though I spent eleven months in the Republic of South Vietnam fortunately I did not have to fight. I have spoken with many veterans of that war and others who were in combat and from them I learned what I long suspected that soldiers do not fight for causes, God or Country but for their buddies, their friends.
The story is told of a young soldier that was sitting with several buddies who had stopped to rest while on patrol and an enemy soldier tossed a grenade in their vicinity. The young man did not have enough time to toss it back nor even to warn his buddies. He just jumped on the grenade sacrificing his life to save his buddies.
One of my favorite Jesus quotes is: “No greater love has any man than to lay down his life for his friends.”
Friends find time for you and are always there for you especially when you need them most. That is the true meaning of the old saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Your friend and fellow traveler,
David James White
theencouragingword 