Spiritual Friendship

We experience a joy in friendship. Friends enjoy spending time together. Going to a fall football game together—wearing the right color, cheering in unison, sharing hot dogs, and celebrating victory—speaks of the joy of being with friends. There is a strong emotional quality to friendship. We like being with our friends. […]

There are different kinds of friendship. Friendships involve different levels of communication and sharing. Friendships can be tremendously enriching. Each friendship may have a different focus and depth. All have elements of attraction and joy. Some friendships are between men or between women; others are between a man and a […]

I mentioned Spiritual Friendship in a course I was teaching on spirituality. One of the students shared with me that he had never heard the term. He was intrigued with the concept—it seemed to describe one of his relationships. Spiritual friends are friends with whom we feel we can share […]

With a true friend we can share our hopes and discouragements. It is comforting to have an understanding ear to hear our concerns both spoken–and unspoken. It is good to have a person who can serve as a “sounding board” to whom we can vocalize our ideas that seem new […]

Friends do not expect us to be perfect-nor do we expect them to be. Sometimes we will share our mistakes and even our deeper faults with one another. This can be a great aid in the healing process in the varied situations of our lives. Friends sometimes have serious differences […]

In life we are always going either backward or forward. There is no standing still. Though we might not notice the subtle changes in our relationships, they are happening. Patience is an important virtue for sustaining growth in our relationships and in ourselves. Daily life provides many opportunities for exercising […]

As we come to spiritual maturity, we grow in appreciation of our talents and blessings. We realize that we are not entitled to them. We have not earned them. They are gifts from God. One danger is that we might take things for granted. We can easily perceive that ‘what […]