Friendship?? A great place to glean some profound insights into life is from children's stories. On a Winnie the Pooh story, for instance, there is a scene that is a delightful illustration of our desire to hear words that are friendly and warm, rather than harsh or hard. One day Pooh Bear is about to go for a walk in the Hundred Acre wood. It's about 11:30 in the morning. It is a fine time to go calling-- just before lunch. So Pooh sets out across the stream, stepping on the stones, and when he gets right in the middle of the stream he sits down on a warm stone and thinks about just where would be the best place of all to make a call. He says to himself, "I think I'll go see Tigger." No, he dismisses that. Then he says, "Owl!" Then, "No, Owl uses big words, hard-to-understand words." At last he brightens up! "I know! I think I'll go see Rabbit. I like Rabbit. Rabbit uses encouraging words like, 'How's about lunch?' and 'Help yourself, Pooh!' Yes, I think I'll go see Rabbit." Friendship is a valued commodity in our society. Everyone longs to have at least one faithful friend who can be counted on for encouragement and warmth. Proverbs 18:24 tells us, "A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." As Christians, we have a friend who we can call on endlessly, his name is Jesus. Today, take time to thank Jesus for not only being Lord and Savior, but also for being our friend and source of daily encouragement. ps. I hope this writing can encourage my dear friend who really in deep pain :(