A friend loves at all times

This week was an incredible learning experience. I've learned who my TRUE friends are. These beautiful people do not judge me as written in the book of James 2:12-13 - We must show mercy, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful.

I will be THE first one to admit that I have hurt so many people who care for me. I have also learned that I have hurt so many others who care more for themselves than to understand the pain I've caused has nothing to do with them. My husband pointed out that for some reason the "friends" taking sides are only willing to hear one side of the heartbreaking story. There are two sides to all of this mess. We don't see this as a war of words but rather it's a spiritual battle.

Our TRUE friends not only honor the beauty of marriage but also the mere fact that in marriage, we are ONE. (Genesis 2:24) For those of you who care for my husband as a friend, then you care for me as a friend. But for those who hurt his wife, know that you hurt the husband too.

Check out the following quotes referencing the true beauty of an unconditional love found in friendship. I challenge each of you to look at your growing list of friends. If any one of them messes up, will you love them anyway?

"A friend loves at all times."
-- Proverbs 17:17.

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out."-- Walter Winchell

"My friend is he who will tell me my faults in private." -- Solomon Ibn Gabirol

"Friends show their love in times of trouble..."
-- Euripides (408 B.C.)

"Friendship multiplies the good of life and divides the evil."
-- Baltasar Gracian (1647)

"One who looks for a friend without faults will have none." -- Hasidic Saying

"Friendship doubles our joy and divides our grief."-- Swedish proverb

"In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
-Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968)

"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!" Ecclesiastes 4:9-10