Why I Am Thankful for Friends

During the Thanksgiving holiday, everyone asks, “what are you thankful for?” My answer is “friends.”

I had no true friends BC (before cancer). I was selfish, self-centered, and self-absorbed. Thank God for His grace and mercy. I am not that person anymore.

Why am I thankful for friends?

Friends support us

I love the story in the Bible about how Aaron and Hur helped Moses during a battle with the Amalekites. All three of them stood on a hill overlooking the battle. As long as Moses held up the staff of God, the Israelites prevailed.

Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold up the staff. Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands.

Because his friends supported Moses, the Israelites won the battle, “But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword” (Exodus 17:12-13, ESV).

Friends inspire us

In the Daniel Plan, a faith-based program for a healthy life, one of the five essentials is “Friends.” We are better together. Loyal friends inspire us to improve ourselves.

To increase your chances of successful lifestyle changes, find an accountability partner or workout buddy. The Daniel Plan is most effective in a small group setting.

In addition, studies show we are more likely to be healthy when our friends are. Choose friends with character qualities that make us better people.

Several of my friends motivate me to walk the greenway, enjoying fresh air and exercise together. Grab a friend and go for a walk.

Friends validate us

Previously, I struggled with trusting women as friends. I felt like a round peg in a square hole around women when all they spoke of was their husbands and children.

I realized genuine friends listen and encourage us when we are downhearted. Authenticity and vulnerability encourage us to share our successes and failures.

C. S. Lewis wrote this on friendship, “Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.’” ¹

Before we can be vulnerable, we must trust our friends. If you struggle with trusting people as I did, find out more in the book Safe People: How to Find Relationships that are Good for You and Avoid Those That Aren’t.

Friends reveal the true meaning of God’s love

Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves.

As Jesus said, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22: 37-39, ESV)

Jesus is our example of how we treat others, including our friends. Our human instinct is pride, pettiness, envy, selfishness, and entitlement. But we can love our friends when we accept God’s love for us.

Jesus said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another” (John 13:34, ESV). 

Conclusion

I never knew how important friends were until I faced a cancer diagnosis alone. Now I am thankful for friends, including my two sisters. I don’t know what I would do without their support, inspiration, validation, and love.

Why are you thankful for friends?

Reference

1. Lewis, C., 1940. The Problem Of Pain.