Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).

Today, I am thankful for good friends.  They are hard to find, but precious to keep.  Over the years, I have enjoyed the company of beautiful people that have filtered in and out of my life.  In college, especially, I forged the friendships that would last a lifetime.  Seeing the bright future on the horizon ahead of us, we pursued a common goal, and the angst and intensity of that pivotal time helped establish a bond that could not be severed.  In the years since, I have found myself disappointed with the transient relationships that characterize adulthood--moves, children, (lack of children!), and jobs have all served to invite people to join me in my journey only to disappear and make space for someone else.

Not anymore.

I love the friendships that are forever, but I also love the ones that are for a season.  In these, wonderful wise people have spoken into my life.  They leaned in my direction, and I found in them a comfort characterized not necessarily by our parallel lives but by our mutual desire to sharpen and inspire one another.  Change is inevitable; now, I welcome it, for it is only through change that we grow.  I can't hang on to people any more than I can hang onto a rope dangling from a cloud.  As our hopes and dreams evolve, so do our relationships.  Finding the strength to launch our friends in pursuit of what they love takes courage.  Fear of loneliness and rejection could paralyze us... or it could serve to propel us toward a greater goal. 

In 7th grade, I lamented the friends I left behind in elementary school, but this first step, out there on my own, discovering my true identity as the people around me jockeyed for position and clout in an arena that mattered not, I forged ahead, making connections with the people that would make me not necessarily popular, but better.  In college, again, I  entered a foreign arena that was teeming with interesting people.  Relationships were formed quickly and strongly.  Late nights up studying together, coupled with the shared pressure of our unknown future, made for friendships that would test the bonds of time.

Time. 

In a moment, our lives can take a different path than the one we planned.  Before we know it, weeks have passed, then months, and suddenly entire years will be lived only in the shadows of our memory.  Events that seemed important are often only so because of the relationships we have attached to them.  May those relationships serve to sharpen and strengthen me.  May the people that I have invited into my life to share it with me be such that whether they are a forever friend or a fleeting friend, I count them as treasure.  Unlike books or school or money or health, only another man can inspire greatness.  He may use those other things as tools, but it is the fortitude of the soul that manifests itself in our interaction with others that makes us better. 

Empathy and encouragement and inspiration and intellect are evident in the words of the writer of Proverbs when he said, " He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" (13:20).  Choose your friends carefully.  Whether they walk beside you for a spell or carry you through a lifetime, the person you become will largely be because of them.