“Friendship”

This passed weekend I went to church and found the sermon very interesting.
Here is what the youth pastor talked about:

Friendship is shared by both men and women. We all share the need for someone to talk to, share our joys and tears, hopes and dreams. There are many types of friendships. Every individual needs a friend. Friends feed basic needs. Friends make a difference in our lives.
In order to begin any friendship people need to risk reaching out to someone new. Risking is being simply who one is. Self-honesty helps to accept others as they are. Often, people have a natural ability to develop friendship by using behaviors such as listening actively, sharing unconditional love, sharing time, laughs, secrets, responsibilities, caring with compassion, responding to physical touch, giving gifts, giving words of comfort and affection, and spending time together. All of these abilities help to develop a friendship.
How can a friendship be maintained? People have a difficult time maintaining friendships. This is due to the everyday activities such as distance, lack of time, being parents, family members, and workers or students. Commitment and dedication are some of the elements needed to maintain a friendship. A commitment through the good and bad times helps a friendship to last. A true friend is there for the other person, even when they do not really feel like being there.
Friends deserve the chance to be forgiven. We should always want to save friendships by thinking about how much they mean. Friends should be treated as one wants to be treated. Talking to them about the feelings related to the conflict and listing from the other person’s side are steps that will lead to forgive those friends who had broken the relationship. But, we should keep in mind that the goal is reconciliation no personal victory. Friends are kept by making a commitment of being with them during the good and bad times. We will all gain something when we find a person to call friend.