A Prerequisite for Friendship

The day was hot and Coleman was bored. He needed a playmate. Door after door he knocked on with little success. Each time it was the same.

"Hey...want to come outside and play with me?"

"Whataya want to play?"

"Don't know. Any ideas?

"Nah, maybe another time. It's too hot."

He desperately wanted a playmate but no one wanted to come outside. Coleman was getting discouraged. Plopping down on the porch, he stared at the empty street in front of him. It was quiet, straight, and long. Like a race track.

That was it! He'd have a race. He loved to run! He'd set up flags at the finish line, have his little sister fire his cap gun at the start, and have ice cream sandwiches for the runners. The ideas tumbled speedily, fueling his excitement. He jumped up.

Knocking on doors again, he was off, stopping at each house long enough to blurt out his plan.

Fifteen minutes later, he had a starting-line full of kids ready to bolt at the cap gun's first pop.
............

As Coleman discovered, without a vision it's hard to find companionship, without companionship it's impossible to have Friendship, and without Friendship life's a long, empty street of loneliness. Thankfully, there's no need for such bleakness, but like Coleman we must find what interests us.

The Maker of the Stars crafted each one of us as jewels to reflect His majesty, sparkling with unique interests, desires, talents, and gifts- a treasure trove of personality. The exciting part is that these gems are still in the rough. They need cleaned, polished, set, and displayed properly to showcase their great beauty. So guess whose job that is? Exactly- yours, mine, ours.

Our calling is to discover our interests, develop our talents, and dedicate our gifts, becoming the fascinating individuals God intended. As we pursue what moves us, we will suddenly find that we have vision and purpose instead of fretting that we're not a blockbuster salesman like Steve or a talented musician like Yen-Li. Cultivating our gifts will free us to help others cultivate theirs and in the process we'll find that we have companions who are walking a similar road. It is from our group of companions that we will most likely find our Friends.

C.S. Lewis defines our companions as those we "talk shop" with, people in our sphere doing similar activities- our co-workers, the guys we go to the gym with, or the moms in our play group. Most people, he points out, confuse their companions for their Friends. Companionship is a prerequisite for Friendship, but it is not Friendship.

Friendship is a relationship between two people who "see the same truth" and find in each other a passion or interest for the same thing, who willingly run the race of life together, pushing each other to not just run, but run well. We all long for such a Friend, but first, we must find what moves us and pursue it.