Friends

There was once a couple who set out to dig through the earth. Excited with their project, they started digging almost as soon as this idea came to them. After some time though, they began to realize that digging through is not an easy task afterall. The husband said to the wife, “ I think it would be wise to stop digging. We have been digging for some time now and I don’t think we are even halfway through. Let us stop digging and admit that we have failed to accomplish our goal.” But the wife said to his husband, “Cheer up! We may not get to the other side, but the treasures we are finding along the way are certainly worth the digging we have already done!” Indeed life is hard. Sometimes we just think if only we could just quit the game. But the good thing is, no matter how hard the journey is, there is the possibility of us enjoying it if we would only keep our eyes open for the treasures along the way.

You are one such treasure, one worthy of the journey we have made thus far. But as with most treasures that we find in this life, our tendency is to hold back to it, to keep it, to never let it go. Alas, that is never possible with this treasure called friendship. What makes friendship a complex endeavor is that while on the one hand it gives you a sense of fulfillment brought about by the sharing of lives that happens, on the other hand it asks you to be vulnerable to the other. Such vulnerability makes us susceptible to pain. And parting is one such pain that we definitely hope we won’t go through. But that will never happen. The contingent nature of the world we live in makes parting an everyday reality. We just have to learn to live with it, no matter how hard, no matter how painful. In our heart of hearts we desire to keep you, to just let you stay, to enjoy your company. But we know that is not possible. For in the treasure of friendship, unlike treasures of silver or gold or precious stones, we can never be owners. We think of ourselves only as borrowers. You have been shared to us, but the time has come for you to go. We cannot demand that you stay. We can only say thank you to Him who has shared you to us for allowing even for such a short time, the possibility of friendship. We may not keep you, but we know we have never lost you. You may go and leave us, but the memories will always stay. These will not leave us. They will forever be in our hearts.

Thank you for sharing your life to us. What makes this friendship possible is that you have opened yourself in acts of selfless giving and reached out to us. We hope that in our small ways, we have shown you how we have opened our hearts too. We hope that we have shown you that though we may never "outgive" you, where the heart is concerned, you can never “outlove” us. For it is there in the heart that we can be equals. It is there in the heart that we can reciprocate your kindness. It is there in the heart that we can say we are able to initiate the giving as well.

Thank you for coming into our lives. You are one precious treasure that we are so glad we have found. Sadly, we part ways. But happily, the journey does not end here. This is merely the beginning of yet better things. We may be away from each other. But that doesn’t mean the friendship has to end. We just have to be more creative in finding ways how to make it grow and mature. In the end, we can only thank the Lord above for allowing you to be a wonderful part of our lives. And for that we will ever be grateful.