FRIENDS COME & FRIENDS GO, BUT.....

Friendship can be a tricky connection. Its one of those life experiences that can start strong but time and circumstances can cause it to turn a corner and run off the track.
As the King of Israel for 40 years, I doubt Solomon had a lot of close friends because of the necessity to maintain his personal security. Every person in a privileged position of authority over others always has to make friends with a measure of caution because many come bearing gifts of friendship, mouthing the right words, but with an underlying motive.
Solomon wrote - "Friends come and friends go, but a true friend sticks by you like family." Proverbs 18:24 MSG
And this - "A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." Proverbs 17:17 NKJV
True friends are few, probably a number you can count on two hands, or one hand, or half a hand. They are the ones who stick it out, NO MATTER WHAT! They hang in there with you when your or their life is pounded by the inevitable hurricane of adversity. They always seem to be among the first to rejoice with you over your victories or sit down to weep and pray with you in the storm. They always tell you the truth rather than dodge the real issue with empty flattery. They love you warts and all with a love that can only come from God.
I am very proud to have some of those true friends in my life. I am fortunate to have married the one who tops that list. But, my list doesn't stop there because we have produced three great friends that we both count heavily on for encouragement, advice and spiritual insight, our kids. My most trusted and treasured man friend in all this wide world is my son Michael Kent Sutherland. We share everything. But doing so on the telephone is a poor substitute for eyeball to eyeball. I miss him.
Beyond my family I can honestly say that God has put some really good people in my path, all for which I am deeply thankful. A few have stuck it out but most have now become virtually invisible. But, that's okay because there are always new friends to discover and try again to make that special connection.
So, here is what I've learned in nearly 70 years - hold all of your friends forever in your heart and let them know you still treasure that connection. If all of you are truly blessed by the Father, eternity will be one huge party just catching up.