Hi Phil,
I have often thought about hthis myself.  I have had periods in my life
where I have had a close friend, but not much.
Even in my church, though I appreciate everyone, and perhaps love some more
than others, yet I can't say that I could open up to any of them, except for
my wife.
So until the Lord puts someone in my path that I can be close to, I just
want to make sure that by the end, I, like moses, and Abraham, will be call
a friend of God.
Vinny
----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, July 17, 2005 8:17 PM
Subject: Are They Really Friends


> In recent years, I have lost a number of people I considered close
friends.
> A man I considered to be my best friend has not had contact with me for at
> least two years and perhaps longer.  Others were school friends who
suddenly
> passed away, or who slowly passed away, but I never heard about it until
> they were gone.  My roommate in school growing up, for example, died an
> alcoholic.  For years I called him on his birthday just to catch up on
> things.  Once and awhile, I called him more often because he meant so much
> to me.  I got to thinking one year, as his birthday approached, that he
> never ever called me for anything.  I wondered, therefore, how much I
meant
> to him so I stopped calling.  Three or four years passed and then I heard
of
> his death.  The pastor I mentioned in my earlier post last talked with me
in
> August of 1992.  He was never a man for writing and he rarely called.  If
I
> told you some of the things I did for this pastor, you would probably find
> them hard to believe.  For example, one day, many years ago, during the
late
> eighties, the Lord told me to call him and talk to him about his finances.
> I did and discovered he was three months behind on his mortgage and about
> ready to lose his home.  He had not told anyone.  I hung up that day and
> called a man I knew in the church and explained the situation.  The man
was
> horrified that his own pastor was that bad off financially and never once
> told anybody in the church.  They not only caught up his payments, but
> filled his house with groceries and gave him a raise at the church.  Yet,
as
> I said, the only time I heard from him in five years or more was when he
> drove to Denver to meet with several friends to try and get them to sign
up
> with his multi level business he was in part time.  Was that a friendship
> which worked both ways?  For the passed two or three years at least, I
have
> begun evaluating what a friendship really is.  If it isn't both ways, that
> is, mutual, I now questions the reality of such a friendship.
>
> Phil.
>